Meet Holocaust Survivors

Holocaust survivors have volunteered at the Museum on a regular basis across the institution—engaging with visitors, sharing their personal histories, serving as tour guides, translating historic materials, and more, since the Museum opened. Their presence has been an invaluable asset, and their contributions vital to the Museum’s mission.

Learn about volunteering at the Museum.

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  Anna Seelfreund Grosz

  Born: April 20, 1926, Racşa, Romania Died: April 19, 2020, Falls Church, VA

  Anna Grosz was born Anna Seelfreund on April 20, 1926, in Racşa, Romania, to Samuel and Ilona Seelfreund.

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  William Hess

  Born: August 8, 1921, Stuttgart, Germany Died: July 2018, Silver Spring, MD

  William was born to a large liberal Jewish family in Stuttgart, Germany. His father, a World War I veteran, worked as a textile wholesale businessman and owned his own small store where he sold cotton and linen goods. Stuttgart was a seemingly safe city and became the home for many Jews.

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  Marcel Hodak

  Born: August 25, 1937, Paris, France Died: June 1, 2022, DANIA BEACH, FL

  Marcel Hodak was born August 25, 1937, in Paris, France. His father, Jules, and mother, Feiga, were both born in the Russian Empire. They met in Constantinople where their families had fled because of the violence of the 1903-1905 pogroms in Kishinev (then in the Russian Empire, today Chișinău, Moldova). In Constantinople, Jules and Feiga married and Feiga gave birth to their oldest child, a daughter named Esther. The family then immigrated to Paris.  In Paris, they had three sons, Jean, Achilles, and Marcel. Marcel was the youngest by almost a decade. Jules worked as a presser in the women’s garment industry and Feiga was a seamstress.

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  Irving Horn

  Born: February 25, 1927, Radom, Poland Died: October 6, 2002, Potomac, MD

  Isachar was born to a Jewish family in the Polish city of Radom, approximately 75 miles south of Warsaw. The city was the center of Poland’s leather-tanning industry.

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  Andrew “Andy” Jampoler

  Born: January 15, 1942, Lwów, Poland

  Andrew “Andy” Jampoler was born Andrzej Jampoler on January 15, 1942 in Lwów, German-occupied Poland (present day: Lviv, Ukraine) to Karol and Hanka (Awin) Jampoler. Andy’s father Karol attended the Lwów Conservatory with plans to become a conductor. Both of his parents came from prosperous and educated Jewish families who were assimilated into Polish society, spoke Polish at home, and did not observe Jewish religious traditions.

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  Adam Kahane

  Born: July 6, 1922, Jaslo, Poland Died: February 9, 2021, Silver Spring, MD

  Adam was born in Poland in 1922 to a liberal Jewish family. He was the only child of Giza Menase and Jakub Kahane. Adam lived with his parents in Lodz until their divorce when Giza and 5 year old Adam moved to Jaslo to be with her family. Adam visited Jakub, who ran a pharmacy in Lodz, once a year. In Jaslo Adam attended school and spent much time outdoors skiing, playing tennis, and kayaking with his cousin, Reggie.

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  Henry Kahn

  Born: January 18, 1923, Böblingen, Germany Died: May 23, 2018, Silver Spring, MD

  Henry Kahn was born Heinz Kahn on January 18, 1923, into an orthodox Jewish family in Böblingen, Germany.  His father Adolf, a merchant from Baisingen fought for Germany in World War I and later became president of the Cattle Dealers’ Association of Wuertemberg and Hohenzollern.  His mother, Hedwig, was from Frankfurt, Germany.  Henry’s brother, Rolf, was born in 1925.

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  Inge Katzenstein

  Born: March 27, 1929, Cologne, Germany

  Inge Berg was born on March 27, 1929 in Cologne, Germany to Klara and Josef Berg. The Bergs, a close-knit observant Jewish family, lived with Josef’s parents, and their family was active in the local Jewish community; Inge’s paternal grandfather was president of the local synagogue association, and her father’s brother, George, was the synagogue’s cantor. Josef was a cattle dealer and Klara managed the household and raised her daughters Inge and Gisella (Jill), born in 1933.

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  Werner Katzenstein

  Born: April 29, 1922, Wallensen, Germany Died: November 4, 2015

  Werner was raised in the rural German town of Herleshausen, where his family owned a farming supply business. His father sold seeds to local farmers and purchased their grain, while his mother ran the office. The Katzensteins were one of about two dozen Jewish families living in the area.

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  Julie Keefer

  Born: April 19, 1941, Lwów Poland

  Julie Keefer was born Jula Weinstock on April 19, 1941, in Lwów, Poland (present day: L’viv, Ukraine). Julie’s father, Herman, was a tinsmith, and her mother, Sala, was an opera singer and homemaker. Many members of Julie’s family also lived in Lwów, including her maternal grandfather, Aizik Eisen.

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