Tracing News Winter 2008

FROM THE CHAIR

This year marks 70 years since Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass. On a single night, the Nazis destroyed more than 200 synagogues, plundered thousands of Jewish businesses, murdered 91 people and deported more than 25,000 others to Concentration Camps.

Since then, many continue to search for answers about what happened to their loved ones that night, during the Holocaust and its aftermath. The Red Cross has been successful in finding answers thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, the commitment of our donors and the cooperation of partner organizations like the International Tracing Service and Red Cross Societies around the world.

I hope this issue of Tracing News finds you and your family enjoying the holidays and looking forward to the New Year. I feel confident that 2009 will be a year of reunions and answers for many more.

Sincerely,

Irv Margol

REMEMBERING LES KUCZYNSKI
Les Kuczynski passed away in August but his spirit will live on in our dedication to our tracing mission. Les served on the Holocaust Center's advisory board since 2002 and was appointed vice chairman in 2007. He led the German Forced Labor Compensation Program on behalf of the Polish American Congress and the Polish American community, beginning in 1999..

Les was born in Lubeck, Germany in 1947 of parents who were sent there after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Six years later, the whole family emigrated to the USA as Displaced Persons. He is survived by his wife Alice and their son Andrew.

TEENS SEPARATED, FIND EACH OTHER AFTER 70 YEARS
“How in the world did you find them?” George Finley asked Red Cross workers at the Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center. He referred to his mother-in-law’s two neighborhood friends who, as teenagers, disappeared without a trace in Nazi Germany. When the Red Cross recently informed 86-year-old Elfriede Huebner that Walter Ullman and his brother Gunter had been traced to San Francisco, she immediately dialed their number.

“Walter answered the phone,” said Finley describing his mother-in-law’s telephone reunion. “He speaks very softly. But they talked about old times for more than an hour. Elfriede choked up.”

Elfriede Huebner calling her friend for the first time in 70 years.

“It took me awhile to find them,” said Leslie Cartier, the Red Cross volunteer who pieced together the circumstances of the Ullman family’s escape to Shanghai during World War II. Only the two brothers and their parents made it out alive. All of the other Ullman family members were murdered by the Nazis.

Cartier searched records provided by the International Tracing Service, written in several different languages and erroneously listing the boys’ father Solomon as a female named “Sally.” “I’m compared to a dog with a bone,” said Cartier about her persistence in tracing. Eventually she navigated the twists and turns of the case and discovered a death certificate in California that indicated the family had eventually immigrated to San Francisco. When all the parties had received the joyful news, Elfriede sent photos of herself and her childhood friends riding bicycles in happier days, as well as photos of them now. Emotion wells up in Leslie Cartier’s eyes as she describes looking at the images: “To put a face to what you’ve been working on is wonderful!”

Walter, Elfriede and Gunter, together as children.

As for Elfriede Huebner, Walter Ullman and Gunter Ullman—all three say they’re too old to travel for a reunion in person. But, after 70 years apart, they now plan to stay in touch by phone and mail. “I am happy that you are well,” Walter wrote to Elfriede in November. “Thank you so much for searching for me and my brother. Auf wiedersehn.”

BE A HERO

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HONORING HEROES
Although headquartered at the Central Maryland Chapter, the work of the Tracing Center is performed by Red Cross volunteers at chapters across the country. At this year's annual meeting, the Tracing Center honored the dedicated heroes who make our work a success. The honorees were:

Outstanding Volunteer Award-- Susan R. Berger and Naomi Leavitt
Tracing Center caseworkers Susan R. Berger and Naomi Leavitt, from Boston, MA, have personally delivered thousands of tracing results to Holocaust survivors and their families. Trained psychologists, both Berger and Leavitt have opened their hearts and professional ears to the unique psychological and emotional needs of their clients.

Outstanding Chapter Award—American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin
Thanks to a two-year grant from the Helen Bader Foundation, the American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin launched an outreach campaign in 2007 to promote tracing services in the Greater Milwaukee area.With input from local organizations and members of the community, hundreds more Holocaust survivors have learned about this important Red Cross service for the very first time.

Kathy Lass, Vice Chair, Naomi Leavitt, Bess Kaufman, Susan R. Berger, Irving Margol, Chairman.

FUTURE OF THE ITS
The International Tracing Service is one of many resources we rely upon to find answers for those seeking information about their missing loved ones. ITS director Reto Meister addressed this year's annual meeting about the ITS's current and future activities. The ITS has been under the direction and management of the International Committee of the Red Cross since 1955.

According to Meister, the ITS aims to respond quickly to requests for information, to digitize and export the documents in its possession and to develop a historical research department. Meister says the ITS’s previous backlog has been significantly reduced and will soon be eliminated completely.

meister
ITS director Reto Meister during a visit to the HWVTC.

Meister told the group that by 2010 all documents on displaced persons will be digitized and exported to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem and other facilities. He adds that the witness account files will be digitized between 2010 and 2012.

More information about the ITS is available at www.its-arolsen.org/.

The Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center is a national clearinghouse for persons seeking the fates of loved ones missing since the Holocaust and its aftermath. We assist U.S. residents searching for proof of internment, forced/slave labor, or evacuation from former Soviet territories. This documentation may be required for reparations.

For more information about Red Cross services, contact you local Red Cross chapter.