Last week, my 97-year-old mother found a remarkable photograph in an old album! It captures the group of unaccompanied minors she traveled with from Germany to America in March, 1938. Taken on the ship, my mother is in the bottom row, hands on her head to stop the sharp winds from blowing her hair in her face. Right next to her is her best friend on the ship, Gerda Katz. The two lost touch with each other after their arrival.
When 8th-grade students read IS IT NIGHT OR DAY? — the story of the girls’ immigration journey and friendship at 12 — they were inspired to do a class project to research their immigration experience, locate Gerda, and reunite the two women. The students were successful! In 2011, 72 years after this picture was taken, the two old friends finally saw each other again in a remarkable reunion in Seattle, Washington.
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