Heddy Rose

In the early 1930s, when Hitler rose to power, Heddy’s uncles saw the changing political climate and made plans to leave Germany. One uncle moved to the United States, while the other went to Palestine. At the time, Heddy’s family did not realize how dire the situation would become for Jews in Germany.

By November 9, 1939, when Heddy was nine years old, her father’s business began to suffer under the increasing antisemitism in Germany.

Between January 1938 and March 1939, they left Emmerich, knowing their eventual destination was the U.S. They traveled by train and stopped to visit Heddy’s mother’s sister on their way. Her father’s business was sold under duress to an employee.

While living in Buchau, Heddy experienced the horrors of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass."

In January 1939, Heddy’s father left for the U.S. ahead of the family, as Jewish men were being targeted for conscription by the Nazis. Heddy, her mother, and her grandmother stayed behind, waiting for their papers to be processed, but soon followed him to the United States once everything was in order.

After arriving in New York City, the family settled in Washington Heights, a neighborhood home to many Jewish-German refugees.

Her highly educated parents were forced to take jobs far beneath their qualifications—her mother worked cleaning houses and often brought home food to help feed the family, while her father found employment in a department store. They had very little money, and Heddy spent much of her time alone. None of her father’s relatives had survived the Holocaust.