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rm»nnn rrmn Claims Conference Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany Claims Conference Holocaust Survivor Memoir Collection Access to the print and/or digital copies of memoirs in this collection is made possible by USHMM on behalf of, and with the support of, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Library respects the copyright and intellectual property rights associated with the materials in its collection. The Library holds the rights and permissions to put this material online. If you hold an active copyright to this work and would like to have your materials removed from the web please contact the USHMM Library by phone at 202-479-9717, or by email at [email protected]. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. https://archive.org/details/dontforgetus01scho DON’T FORGET US WRITTEN SUSAN SCHOENENBERGER 6^ ilH Zoo \ Acknowledgments There are so many people to thank that it is difficult to know where to begin. First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband, John. His never-ending encouragement, love and support were instrumental in my ability to complete my journey into the Holocaust. He allowed me the time to research my past and for that I will be forever grateful. I would like to thank my daughter, Jessica, who gave up too much time with her “Mommy” at a young age. Someday, when she is old enough, she will understand the importance of my journey. On the darkest days, Jessica can always light up my life and for that I am thankful. I would like to thank my Uncle Arnold and my aunt Beverly for always taking the time from their busy schedules to help me in any way they could. Uncle Arnold provided me both information and emotional support during the entire time I researched our family’s rich history. I extend my sincere gratitude to my sisters, Wendy Shlossman, Pam Wise, Terri Randall and Nancy Koemer, for without their emotional support in every step of my life, I am utterly useless. I thank my mother for the information she provided and for taking part in creating the person I am today. It would have been impossible to write this book without the input of my dear cousin, Lou Stem. I feel fortunate and appreciative that we reconnected and he had the opportunity to leave his knowledge of the past with me. I am so sorry he passed away before I completed the manuscript. Writing this book would have been impossible without the information provided by all of my newfound family and friends. They include: Ruth Ilan-Porath, Hannah Kallich, Sascha Schlesinger, Lottie Steinberg, Ruth Kreisler, Gerda Meyer, Sophie Handelsman, Telly Goldstein, Joe Zion and Kurt Zion. I thank all of the individuals and agencies that contributed to the information necessary to complete this book. They include: The National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., Yad Vashem - The Hall of Names, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, The Jewish Agency in Israel, Aleksandrs Feigmanis from the Museum “Jews in Latvia,” Gisela Mangier, Dr. Gertrude Schneider, Trudy Schloss, Hannelore Marx, Amo Fem, manager of the Jewish Community in Stuttgart, Inga Weinberger, of the Jewish Family Services in Baltimore, Susanne Schmidt, Mayor of Heilbronn, and Ruth Nessenbaum. I reserve a special thanks to Eric Klaus, who brought the words of my great grandparents to life for me. I would be remiss if I did not also thank Steven Spielberg and Eli Wiesel for all of their work to further my education concerning the Holocaust. I also would like to mention my gratitude for a chance meeting with a well-known Baltimore television journalist, Virg Jacques. It gave me the push I needed to leam what happened to my great-grandparents. I also sincerely thank my great-grandparents, Karl and Jeanette Ladenburger, for the many letters they sent, without which I could not have learned about them. In conjunction with that, I would like to thank my grandmother, Selma Ladenburger Kaufmann, for saving those letters. I wish you were still here so I could thank you in 2 person. Also, I would like to thank my grandfather, Helmut Kaufmann, for having the wherewithal to get out of Germany in time. Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to the memories of all of the victims of the Holocaust, those who perished and those who survived. 3