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A Survivor's Tale Talk and Discussion at Desmond Fish
Philipstown's Henry Stern will describe his escape from Nazi Germany
Henry Stern, a survivor of Nazi Germany, will describe the effects of growing up in Germany during the turbulent time of the Nazi regime, and escaping to England in 1939, one week before the start of World War II. The lecture will take place at the Desmond Fish Library in Garrison on Sunday, September 30, at 2pm.
One of the most frequently asked questions put to Henry during his lectures in the NY Metropolitan are: "Why didn't you leave Germany sooner?"
His automatic response: "We tried!" The fact was that people across Europe began trying to leave for other parts of the world in the early 1930's. In order to leave, however, people had to go through incredible "hoops" to overcome governmental rules that, on the one hand, wanted them gone but on the other made it almost impossible for these folks to find a place that would welcome them. In fact Germany had a numbered list of thousands. If your family had a high number the chance for exiting was almost impossible. Add to this, the fact that few countries would accept the refugees. And so the humanitarian nightmare began.
Recently, Henry and his wife, Adele, accepted an invitation to return to his home town of Augsburg (Bavaria) as the guests of the city. The meeting with the Augsburg community also included question and answer sessions with local school children, the Mayor, various representatives of local Christian and Jewish agencies, and the press. Visits and commemorations were held at the Town Hall, Jewish cemeteries, synagogues and historical sites.
Although Henry Stern had serious doubts about accepting this special invitation and meeting some of the old cohorts of his childhood, he went anyway. After his arrival he met some of his former friends who asked "Don't you remember me?" Before the trip was over he finally made peace with history.
The talk and discussion will take place in the Program Room and will be supplemented with video and photos of this memorable trip. The library is located at the intersections of Rtes 9D and 403. Admission is free. For information call 424-3020
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