Ever since my mother left Germany as a 12-year-old in 1938, she couldn’t understand what happened to her and why. She viewed her immigration through the eyes of a child.
She couldn’t understand the political situation in Germany in the 1930s: Consequently, she couldn’t sort out who was to blame for her separation from her parents.
She didn’t see Hitler as the villain; she believed her parents had betrayed her by sending her away. (Left – This is the last picture of my mother with her parents, taken just days before she boarded the ship in March 1938.)
After my mother read the last blog quoting Karin Gordon (see below), she sent me this email which reflects her evolving perspective:
“How sad! Hitler and the Nazis destroyed so many families. The offspring of those families carry that burden today and into the future.”