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Johanna was born on May 3, 1927, in Vienna, Austria, into an affluent, assimilated family. She had two brothers, Joseph and Herman. Her life changed dramatically when the Nazis came to their apartment in Vienna and confiscated the family’s valuables. Following this, Johanna stopped attending school; although there was a Jewish school available, she did not enroll.
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Johanna’s brothers worked for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and managed to leave Vienna. Herman departed on November 9, 1938, the day of Kristallnacht, sponsored by his girlfriend’s Quaker parents who lived in North Carolina. After Kristallnacht, Johanna’s parents sought to get her out of Austria and placed an advertisement in an English Jewish newspaper, offering her services as a “school girl” companion.
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Johanna still has a copy of the original newspaper ad.
The Glickman family, who lived in Manchester, England sponsored Johanna. In 1938, at the age of 11, she took a train by herself from Vienna to London, marking the last time she would see her parents. The Glickman family spoke English and were Orthodox, exposing Johanna to religious life for the first time. She lived in Manchester from 1938 to 1941.
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World War II began while Johanna was in Manchester, and she vividly recalls the air raids and the frantic rush to the bomb shelter with the Glickman family. Her cousin Bertie had moved to London before the war, and her brother, Joseph (Joe), was also in England. However, because England was at war with Germany, Joe was interned as an “enemy alien.”
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Bertie wrote to Joe suggesting they get married, as this would allow him to be released from the internment camp and give her a better quote number, ultimately enabling both of them to obtain visas to the United States. Johanna pretended to be Joe and Bertie’s child and was also granted a visa to the U.S. Johanna, Bertie, and Joe traveled by train to Scotland and then boarded a boat heading north toward Canada.
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They disembarked at Rocky Point, New York, in January 1941.
Upon arriving in the United States, Johanna and Joe learned that their father had died, although they were unaware of the circumstances surrounding his death at that time. Joe was subsequently drafted into the U.S. Army to help fight in World War II. Both siblings received letters from their mother pleading for help to escape Vienna.
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Joe eventually secured a visa for their mother to go to Cuba, but it was too late, as the United States had already entered the war.
While serving in the army, Joe managed to bribe Russian guards and took a jeep to Vienna in search of their mother. Unfortunately, a neighbor informed him that she had been taken away. Tragically, most of Johanna’s immediate family was killed during the Holocaust.
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Johanna Saper interview at Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School -2023-2024
Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School
