Stories tagged "1938-1939": 48
Stories
A Baker's Delivery Boy
"My father was about eleven when Hitler came to power, and he had been enrolled in a school in Treuchtlingen, and was studying. And when he was 13 he became a Bar Mitzvah, and then the German government shut down the school that he was attending,…
A Long Journey to School
"There was a point in 1936 when the girls were not allowed to attend the parochial school anymore. My Aunt Edie, who was the oldest, was almost through with school there, so I think they made an exception. My mother, and Aunt Hiddie, and Ilse, had…
Trapped in the Third Reich
Editor's Note: In September 1939, Eugene's family went on a trip to Germany to visit Eugene's grandmother Johanna. The family was required to return to Germany periodically to maintain Johanna's property in Hannover. On the same day that their ocean…
An American Childhood
Editor's Note: After marrying in Brazil, Eugen and Karla Kimling were both infected with malaria. They decided to move to the United States where Karla soon gave birth to two sons, Carl and Eugene Kimling. During his childhood, Eugene's family lived…
Rationing in England
I had a green ration book because of my age. My brother had the blue, and my mom and dad had white ones. And I was able to get orange juice on mine, and we could get an egg once a week, and meat was almost inaccessible. My dad would buy some black…
The Start of the War
"When they started the war, we had rails in our yard, separating us from the front door, you know at the front, from the neighbors, and we had really pretty iron rails in front of our house going all around the park. Everybody did. And they took…
Father's Childhood in Denmark
"[My father] was very musical too, so he learned to play the guitar and later joined a jazz band. He was also a boy scout, In 1938 he met Lord Baden-Powell. Lord Baden-Powell came to Copenhagen and shook every boy’s hand."
Leaving Europe
"After Kristallnacht, which was November of ’38, my father had already talked about leaving, I think, and when that happened, he said, 'I’ve got an idea. My wife is an American citizen. We might be able to get out through her.' And he was right. We…
A World at War
"Well, I do remember hearing the radio broadcast because the very next day my father, who could rent his cab—he had to pay the owner of the cab, but he could rent it himself—he took us away into the country, right away. Because the government…
Father's Hometown of Lublin
"My father was born in Lublin, Poland. 1919. He was a student. My father was the youngest of sixteen children. Fifteen of those children were girls. He basically was just a typical teenager -- growing up with a fairly Orthodox Jewish…