Language:
English
Pages:
153 pages :
,
typescript, photocopy.
Year of publication:
1999
Keywords:
Abraham, Walter.
;
Fromm, Frieda.
;
Fromm, Meyer.
;
Nickel, Maria.
;
Kulturbund Deutscher Juden, Berlin (1933-1941)
;
Antisemitism.
;
Dressmakers.
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Life in hiding.
;
Jews Persecutions 1933-1945.
;
Kristallnacht, 1918
;
Women authors.
;
World War, 1939-1945.
;
Zionism.
;
Berlin (Germany)
;
Lubawa (Poland)
;
Palestine.
;
Autobiographies
;
Biographical sources
;
Memoirs
Abstract:
The memoir was written 1999 in California. Memories of Ruth Abraham's childhood in Löbau, West Prussia. She grew up in an orthodox family. Her father, Meyer Fromm, was a wealthy merchant. Recollections of the celebration of Jewish holidays. Relationship between the Jewish and Christian community. Antisemitism after World War One, when Löbau became Polish. Rumors of pogroms in Russia. Opting for German citizenship and move to Allenstein near Koenigsberg in 1921. Early interest in dressmaking. Ruth was enrolled in the Luisen Schule, a homemaking school for girls. Private Religion and Hebrew classes at home. Importance of family ties. Increasing encounters of alienation with non-Jewish friends, who stopped associating with her. Rising Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitism. Apprenticeship at the family's dressmaker. First signs of the growing danger in Germany. In 1932 her sister Betty left for Palestine. Move to Berlin, where she stayed at her sisters' houses, who were both married to affluent business men and led the lives of comfortable middle class wives. Fascinating cultural life in Berlin. Working with various dressmakers. Jewish life slowly disappeared into private life due to fears of stirring attention. Increasing persecution and awareness of permanent danger. Zionist lectures and activities. Trip to Italy and Palestine to visit her sister in February 1938. Witnessing the terror of the "Kristallnacht" (November Pogrom). Attending performances of the Kulturbund (Jewish arts society) to escape the dreadful reality. Engagement with Walter Abraham. Fervent attempts to arrange an exit visa for the family. First deportations of relatives to camps in Poland. Forced labor in a pharmacy corporation. In 1942 Ruth became pregnant. Deportation of her parents. Encounter with a German woman, Maria Nickel, who offered her help. Birth of their daughter Reha and life in hiding in the countryside. Escape from a SS raid. Hiding in Berlin and life on the streets.
Abstract:
False identity and hiding place in the countryside. Liberation by the Russian army. Imprisonment of her husband accused of being a Nazi spy. Return to Berlin and liberation by the Americans.
Note:
English
,
Synopsis in file
URL:
http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=599108&custom_att_2=simple_viewer
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