Eric Donath

In April of that year, they took a boat to Shanghai when Eric was just three and a half years old. They initially lived in a very nice area in Shanghai. However, in 1942, the Japanese authorities required all Jewish refugees to move into a designated area with other Jews. The conditions in this new location were very poor. During this time, Eric lived next door to an Orthodox Jewish family.

In the U.S., Eric worked for Steven Klein, who owned Barton’s Candy and had sponsored many Jewish refugees. Eric arrived in the U.S. from Vancouver in 1951. He pursued his education, graduating from Columbia College with a degree in engineering in 1956 and then from Yale University in 1959.