Our eighteen great-grandchildren are the legacy we are most proud of. Seventy-five years ago, Hitler and the Nazis vowed to annihilate the Jewish people, but our family is just one example that he did not succeed. To my great sorrow, antisemitism is raising its ugly head again in many places, including European countries, but based on past experience I feel sure that we will prevail.
My most fervent hope is for a safe and peaceful future for our family in Israel, the country they truly love.
Montreal, April 10, 2017
Glossary
aliyah (Hebrew; pl. aliyot, literally, ascent) A term used by Jews and modern Israelis to refer to Jewish immigration to Israel; the term is also used to refer to “going up” to the altar in a synagogue to read from the Torah.
Babi Yar A ravine on the northwest outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine. On September 29–30, 1941, Babi Yar was the site of one of the largest mass murders at an individual location during World War ii, with over 33,000 Jews murdered by Nazi Einsatzgruppen mobile killing units (Russian estimates put the number at nearly 100,000). The ravine remained a site of murders of Jews, Roma, Soviet officials and prisoners of war through 1943.
bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah (Hebrew; literally, one to whom commandments apply) The age of thirteen when, according to Jewish tradition, boys become religiously and morally responsible for their actions and are considered adults for the purpose of synagogue ritual. A bar mitzvah is also the synagogue ceremony and family celebration that mark the attainment of this status, during which the boy is called upon to read a portion of the Torah and recite the prescribed prayers in a public prayer forum. In the latter half of the twentieth century, liberal Jews instituted an equivalent ceremony and celebration for girls called a bat mitzvah.
Bernadotte, Folke (1895–1948) A Swedish count and diplomat who, as vice-president of the Swedish Red Cross, is credited with convincing Heinrich Himmler in March and April 1945 to release 7,000 Scandinavian prisoners in German concentration camps, primarily from Sachsenhausen but also 400 Danish Jews in Theresienstadt. Bernadotte later arranged the release of 10,000 women prisoners from Ravensbrück concentration camp, including 2,000 Jews.
brit milah (Hebrew; in Yiddish, bris; literally, covenant of circumcision) Judaism’s religious ceremony to welcome male infants into the covenant between God and the Children of Israel through a ritual circumcision (removal of the foreskin of the penis) performed by a mohel, or circumciser, eight days after the baby is born. Traditionally, a baby boy is named after this ceremony.
cheder (Hebrew; literally, room) An Orthodox Jewish elementary school that teaches the fundamentals of Jewish religious observance and textual study, as well as the Hebrew language.
chuppah (Hebrew; literally, covering) The canopy used in traditional Jewish weddings that is usually made of a cloth (sometimes a prayer shawl) stretched or supported over four poles. It is meant to symbolize the home the couple will build together.
Haftorah The portion read from the Book of Prophets after the Torah reading at Sabbath services and major festivals; it is traditionally sung by the youth who is celebrating his or her bar/bat mitzvah.
Haganah (Hebrew; The Defense) The Jewish paramilitary force in British Mandate Palestine that existed from 1920 to 1948 and later became the Israel Defense Forces. After World War ii, there were branches of the Haganah in the DP camps in Europe, and members helped coordinate illegal immigration to British Mandate Palestine.
Hasidic Judaism (from the Hebrew word hasid; literally, piety) An Orthodox Jewish spiritual movement founded by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer in eighteenth-century Poland; characterized by philosophies of mysticism and focusing on joyful prayer. This movement resulted in a new kind of leader who attracted disciples as opposed to the traditional rabbis who focused on the intellectual study of Jewish law. Melody and dance have an important role in Hasidic worship. There are many different sects of Hasidic Judaism, but followers of Hasidism often wear dark, conservative clothes as well as a head covering to reflect modesty and show respect to God.
Jewish houses (In German, Judenhäuser) Designated areas or buildings in German cities where German Jews were forced to live, beginning as early as May 1939. These residences were crowded, cramped apartments or even shared rooms. While living in these spaces, Jews often were required to perform compulsory forced labour before eventually being deported to concentration or death camps. These Jewish houses were found only in German cities and differed from the ghettos constructed elsewhere in Nazi-occupied Europe, which were areas of the city in which Jews were more strictly confined.
kibbutz (Hebrew) A collectively owned farm or settlement in Israel, democratically governed by its members.
Kristallnacht (German; literally, Night of Broken Glass) A series of pogroms that took place in Germany and Austria between November 9 and 10, 1938. Over the course of twenty-four hours, ninety-one Jews were murdered, 25,000–30,000 were arrested and deported to concentration camps, two hundred synagogues were destroyed and thousands of Jewish businesses and homes were ransacked. Planned by the Nazis as a coordinated attack on the Jews of Germany and Austria, Kristallnacht is often seen as an important turning point in Hitler’s policies of systematic persecution of Jews.
Little Norway A training base in Toronto, Canada, near the Toronto Island Airport for exiled Norwegian airmen and soldiers during World War ii.
March of the Living An annual event that was established in 1988 and takes place in April on Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom Hashoah) in Poland. The March of the Living program aims to educate primarily Jewish students and young adults from around the world about the Holocaust and Jewish life during World War ii. Along with Holocaust survivors, participants march the three kilometres from Auschwitz to Birkenau to commemorate all who perished in the Holocaust. The concept of the event comes from the Nazi death marches that Jews were forced to go on when they were being evacuated from the forced labour and concentration camps at the very end of the war. Many Jews died during these marches and the March of the Living was thus created both to remember this history and to serve as a contrast to it by celebrating Jewish life and strength. After spending time in Poland, participants travel to Israel and join in celebrations there for Israel’s remembrance and independence days.
Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ort) A vocational school system founded for Jews by Jews in Russia in 1880. The name ort derives from the acronym of the Russian organization Obshestvo Remeslenogo Zemledelcheskogo Truda, Society for Trades and Agricultural Labour.
Pesach (Hebrew; also, Passover) One of the major festivals of the Jewish calendar, Passover takes place over eight days in the spring. One of the main observances of the holiday is to recount the story of Exodus, the Jews’ flight from slavery in Egypt, at a ritual meal called a seder. The name itself refers to the fact that God “passed over” the houses of the Jews when he set about slaying the firstborn sons of Egypt as the last of the ten plagues aimed at convincing Pharaoh to free the Jews.
Riga The capital city of Latvia. Before World War ii, from 1918 to 1940, Riga was the capital of independent Latvia. After being annexed by the Soviets in August 1940, Riga was occupied by Nazi Germany in July 1941. Twenty thousand Jews were deported to the closed ghetto in Riga from Germany and other occupied areas. By the time the Soviet army liberated Riga on October 13, 1944, nearly all the Jews in Riga had been murdered by the Nazis.
Righteous Among the Nations A title bestowed by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, to honour non-Jews who risked their lives to help save Jews during the Holocaust. A commission was established in 1963 to award the title. If a person fits certain criteria and the story is carefully corroborated, the honouree is awarded with a medal and certificate and commemorated on the Wall of Honour at the Garden of the Righteous in Jerusalem.
seder (Hebrew; literally, order) A ritual family meal celebrated at the beginning of
the festival of Passover.
Six-Day War The armed conflict between Israel and the neighbouring states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria that took place from June 5–10, 1967. In response to Egypt closing the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, the creation of an alliance between Egypt, Syria and Jordan, and the mobilization of troops by Egypt’s leader Gamal Nasser along Israel’s borders, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack. In the days that followed, Israeli forces drove the armies back and occupied the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank and Golan Heights. Israel also reunited Jerusalem, the eastern half of which Jordan had controlled since the 1948–1949 war.
Theresienstadt A walled town in the Czech Republic sixty kilometres north of Prague that served as both a ghetto and a concentration camp. More than 73,000 Jews from the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and from the Greater German Reich (including Austria and parts of Poland) were deported to Theresienstadt between 1941 and 1945, 60,000 of whom were deported to Auschwitz or other death camps. Theresienstadt was showcased as a “model” ghetto for propaganda purposes to demonstrate to delegates from the International Red Cross and others the “humane” treatment of Jews and to counter information reaching the Allies about Nazi atrocities and mass murder. Theresienstadt was liberated on May 8, 1945, by the Soviet Red Army.
ulpan (Hebrew; pl. ulpanim) A school that offers an intensive Hebrew-language study program. Ulpanim, the first of which was established in Jerusalem in 1949, were created to help new immigrants learn the language of their new country and acclimatize to its culture.
Women’s International Zionist Organization (wizo) An organization founded in England in 1920 to help women and children in what was then British Mandate Palestine and is now Israel. wizo is currently the largest women’s Zionist organization in the world.
Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, established in 1953 to commemorate, educate the public about, research and document the Holocaust.
yeshiva (Hebrew) A Jewish educational institution in which religious texts such as the Torah and Talmud are studied.
Zionism A movement promoted by the Viennese Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl, who argued in his 1896 book Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) that the best way to resolve the problem of antisemitism and persecution of Jews in Europe was to create an independent Jewish state in the historic Jewish homeland of Biblical Israel. Zionists also promoted the revival of Hebrew as a Jewish national language.
Photographs
Margrit (left) with her friend Marta. Buahaugen, Norway, 1941.
Margrit’s father’s family. From left to right: Margit’s Aunt Karolienchen; her grandparents, Veilchen and Jakob; Aunt Selma; Uncle Gustav; and Uncle Natan. Wächtersbach, Germany, 1920s.
Margrit’s father, Max (Markus) Rosenberg, with his dog. Cologne, Germany. Circa 1935.
Margrit and her father, Max (Markus) Rosenberg. Circa 1947.
Margrit and her husband, Stefan, in Norway before immigrating to Canada. 1951.
Margrit (right) with her mother, Alice, at her daughter’s wedding. July 12, 1981.
The Wellén cottage at Buahaugen, Norway. This cottage is similar to the one Margrit’s family escaped to during the war, which was burned down during a German raid after her family left for Sweden. 1996.
Einar Wellén (left) and Margrit’s son, Marvin, (right), standing in front of Stefan and Margrit at the Granlis’ house in Rogne, Norway, where Margrit lived with her family during the war. 1996.
From left to right: Stefan, Margrit and their son, Marvin. The Granlis’ house in Rogne, Norway, 1996.
Israeli ambassador Michael Shiloh (left) with Einar Wellén (right) at the ceremony honouring Einar as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for saving Margrit and her family. Oslo, Norway, April 16, 1996.
Reception at the Wellén home after the ceremony honouring Einar as Righteous Among the Nations. Margrit is seated next to Einar; others are unknown. Oslo, Norway, April 1996.
Margrit’s daughter, Helen, relaxing from her hectic schedule, circa 2015.
Margrit’s childhood home at Marienburger Strasse 52. Cologne, Germany. Photo circa 2016.
The Stolpersteine commemorating Margrit’s family at Marienburger Strasse 52 in Cologne, Germany. The Stolpersteine include the dates of deportation or escape from Germany. Top, from left to right: Margrit’s Aunt Karolienchen (Karoline) Plaut and her Uncle Natan (Nathan) Plaut, deported in 1941. Bottom, from left to right: Margrit’s father, Max (Markus) Rosenberg, her mother, Alice Rosenberg, and Margrit, escaped in 1938. April 12, 2016.
Index
Adath Israel synagogue, 195
Adler, Amek, 45, 92
Adler, Ruth (née Elias), See Elias, Ruth
Aftenposten (Oslo newspaper), 192
Aggripinaufer Hof 4 (Cologne), 3
Alingsås (Sweden), 43–47
Allegra (wife of Marvin Stenge), 189, 195, 197, 204–205
Allied Forces, xvi, 50–51
Anne-Marie (tour guide, Norway), 128–129
antisemitism: Canada, xxv, 87, 97; Germany, xvi, xxi, xxii, xxv, 8, 9; Hungary, 72; Norway, 176; Sweden, 52; United States, xxv
Antwerp (Belgium), 190
Askim (Norway), 184
Auckie Sanft (Montreal), 80
Auschwitz, xix, xx, xxiv, 12, 35, 45, 56
Babi Yar, 162
Baily shul (Beth David synagogue), 189
Bandi (friend of Stefan), 90, 91
Bar Ilan University (Israel), 133
Belgium, xix, 12, 13, 190–191
Bender, Elfriede. See Rosenberg, Elfriede (cousin)
Bender, Erik, 89–90, 120, 195
Bender, Sandy, 120
Bender, Sidney, 120
Benyovitch, Susan (née Guttmann). See Guttmann, Susan
Berlinger, Rabbi, 48
Berlinger, Yetta, 48, 50, 92
Bernadotte, Folke, 51, 65
Bernie (brother-in-law of Helen), 141
Bernstein, Sanyi (Alex), 90–91
Bernstein, Vera, 90–91
Bernstein, Vivian, 91
Beth David synagogue (Bailey shul), 189
Beth Ora synagogue (Montreal), 117, 123, 141–142, 145, 167, 197–198
Björn (son of Kirsten Halvorsen), 185–186
Blatt, Thomas, xv–xvi
Bourke-White, Margaret, xvi
Brauner, David, 63, 101, 146
Brauner, Erna (née Stein; cousin), 8–9, 63, 64, 101, 146
Brauner, Erwin, 9, 63, 101, 146
Brauner, Paul, 101, 146
brit milah (circumcision), 99, 138, 145, 160
Browning, Christopher, xvii
Brussels (Belgium), xix, 12, 13, 190
Buahaugen (Norway), xx, 30–31, 32, 33, 34–35, 36–38, 178–179
Bygdø (Norway), 19
Camp Ramah (Ontario), 120
Canada, xxv, 87, 97
Canadian Jewish News, 171
Century, Celia, 17, 58, 71, 130, 168, 196, 199, 200
Chalk, Frank, 198
Christian X (Denmark), xxiv, 49
Christie, Mrs., 99, 100, 103
Cila (friend), 105–106, 111, 199
Cohen, Judy, 198
Cologne (Germany), xviii, 3, 7–9, 10–12, 204–205
Commission for the Designation for the Righteous (Yad Vashem), 147
Corinne (daughter of Allegra), 189, 197, 206
Counterfeiter: How a Norwegian Jew Survived the Holocaust (Nachtstern), 205–206
Cuthbert Industries (Montreal), 93, 95, 100
Dassy (husband of Ashi Stenge), 206
David (nephew of Allegra), 189
Day of Independence (Norway), 62
Demnig, Gunter, 203, 205
Denmark, xxiv, 48–49
The Destruction of the European Jews (Hilberg), xvii
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Doerr, Karin, 197–198
Donau (ship), xix
Doubilet, Mr., 99, 102, 103
Elias, Mr., 45
Elias, Mrs., 45
Elias, Ruth, 45, 92
Ellingsen, Alf, 59, 60
Ellingsen, Bjørn-Sverre, 59
Ellingsen, Klara, 59, 60
Ellis Teichman Communications Ltd., 143
Else (childhood friend in Oslo), 17–18
Erik (husband of Renée Meieran), 164, 175, 176, 186, 192
Ernest (friend), 105–106, 111
Escape from Sobibor (Rashke), xvi
Every Second Counts (Oestermann), 200n4
Farkas, Judith, 61, 78, 80, 84, 97–98, 131
Farkas, Mrs. (Victor’s mother), 84
Farkas, Sheila, 97–98
Farkas, Susan, 78, 84
Farkas, Victor, 61, 78, 80, 84, 97–98, 131
Feinberg, Kai, 57
Fenster, Josef, 45–46, 127
Frank, Anne, 191
From the Ashes of Sobibor (Blatt), xvi
Gail (wife of Marvin Stenge), 157–159, 160, 164–165
Ganz, Helena, 65–66, 73
Ganz, Howard, 66
Ganz, Irene, 66, 73
Ganz, Jack, 49, 65–66, 73
Germany: anti-Jewish laws, xvi, 8, 10; antisemitism, 8, 9; defeat, 53; interwar crises, xxii; invasion of Norway, xix, xx, 21, 23–24, 26–27; Kristallnacht (November Pogrom), xviii, 9–10n; occupation of Norway, xix, xx, xxiii–xxiv, 27–29, 30, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39, 55
Gittleson, Mr., 120
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