Pieces of Memory

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  • Biographies

    Inge Auerbacher Ambassador for Friendship, Tolerance and Peace

    Lilian Barber Finally grown up!

    Hillel Baum My grandfather sold his cattle in Alzey.

    Mordechai (Motke) Berkowiz I liked helping my father with the horses.

    Doris and Hans Bernheim Fled Nazi Germany together with their parents

    Manef Biran We became convinced Zionists.

    Asher with the young volunteers Daniel and Hila at his home in Shavei Zion.

    Asher Engel People do not forget when you do good to them.

    Joel Eppstein I have been a member of Kibbutz Hama'apil since 1948.

    Bezalel Fischer Members of the Palmach had come to protect us.

    Jakob Fröhlich Followed relatives without his parents to Shavei Zion

    Dalia Gavish My mother was an example of sacrifice and determination.

    Vern Gideon "I don't think we ever really grew up as kids."

    Miriam Harel If there is one thing that is important in life, it is to learn, learn and …

    Yitzhak Hirsch "I didn't think people could behave like that."

    Pavel Hoffmann Freed as an orphan by a special transport from Theresienstadt

    Esther Kahn "I never thought I'd get this excited about an apple."

    Fredy Kahn A child of survivors of the Shoah

    Aharon Klapfer We decided to escape and hide in the forest.

    Shaul Kress I still remember the smell of the steaming bowl of potatoes.

    Tammy Lavi Looking for my family

    Sally Lemberger In 1945 I came back to Rexingen. It was unbelievable.

    Vardit Meir Fleeing from hideout to hideout as youngsters

    Alda Mochly I loved sitting in grandfather's gallery and reading, writing and drawing

    Max Nathans "I had to say I was an orphan."

    Shoshana Neumann I was my family's only connection to the outside world.

    Relli Robinson They explained to me that it was a kind of game that we played together.

    Trude Schwarz She wanted to become a kindergarten teacher.

    Zvi Shalamovitch Survived the war at adoptive parents

    Ruth Solomon My first impressions in Hechingen always remained vivid in my memory.

    Alfred and Arnold Wochenmark They managed to flee via Switzerland to the USA

    Ilse Wälder Childhood and youth in Rexingen

    Gadi Zilberman Hate is a destructive thing.

  • Eyewitness Interviews

    Asher Engel

    Vern Gideon

    Miriam Harel

    Dr. Yitzhak Hirsch

    Pavel Hoffmann

    Dr. Fredy Kahn

    Tammy Lavi

    Alda Mochly

    Zvi Shalamovitch

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  • Page 10
German passport of Elsa Gideon, 1939. The red
German passport of Elsa Gideon, 1939. The red "J" and the forcibly added first name "Sara" mark her as Jewish.
German passport of Werner Gideon, issued for travel from Germany to Solothurn, Switzerland. August 1939. The red
German passport of Werner Gideon, issued for travel from Germany to Solothurn, Switzerland. August 1939. The red "J" mark him as Jewish.

In 1939, Elsa and Robert Gideon made the final decision with Michael Bloch to leave Germany.

Werner and his sister Helga were sent to Switzerland to relatives as a precaution.

Over a period of six months, Helga brought her little brother Werner to the border, where they regularly met their parents.

Meanwhile, Robert and Elsa Gideon struggled to obtain the necessary papers to emigrate to the United States.

The process was frustrating, they were sent from consulate to consulate and had money worries, but finally, with the help of relatives in New York and Missouri, they managed to get passports, visas and tickets for the crossing.

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Vern Gideon

Werner Gideon, 3-years old, in Villingen shortly before leaving Germany, 1939.

Page 1

Werner as a six-month-old baby. To his left is his sister Helga. Villingen, 1936.

Page 2

Elsa Bloch in tennis clothes with tennis racket, 1926.

Page 3

Robert Gideon in the 1920s.

Page 4

Else Gideon with daughter Helga in Villingen, 1935.

Page 5

The residential house of the Gideon family in Villingen, on the first floor the pharmacy of the Strengert family.

Page 6

From left to right: Grandpa Michael Bloch, parents Else and Robert Gideon with Helga and Werner, Villingen, 1937.

Page 7

Detail from the painting

Page 8

Werner, grandfather Michael Bloch, Helga and mother Elsa Gideon. Villingen, 1937.

Page 9

German passport of Elsa Gideon, 1939. The red

Page 10

Third class ship's ticket in Italian issued to Robert and Elsa Gideon with Werner and Helga on November 5, 1939.

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Page 12

The cover of Vern Gideon's first stamp album, which he began at the age of eight.

Page 13

Grandfather Michael Bloch with Helga and Werner Gideon, New York, ca. 1942.

Page 14

Page 15

Sheila Gideon with her son Jerry. USA, 1963/1964.

Page 16

Vern Gideon as a pharmacist in the U.S., 1986.

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Page 18

Jewish cemetery in Rexingen.

Page 19

Vern, Sheila, Jerry, Randi, Michael and Laurel Gideon visiting Horb City Hall, 2019.

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