Son Shares Mother's Kindertransport Survival Story in May

One son's tribute to his mother is helping an entire community understand courage through the eyes of a child who fled the Holocaust.

Jeff Gernsheimer will share his late mother Hilde's survival story on May 11 at the Exeter Community Library in Reading, Pennsylvania. She escaped Nazi Germany through the Kindertransport, an organized rescue effort that brought thousands of Jewish children to safety in Great Britain before World War II began.

The Holocaust Memorial Program starts at 6:30 p.m. and welcomes adults and families with children ages 10 and older. Through personal storytelling, Gernsheimer brings history to life in a way that textbooks cannot capture.

The Reading District Libraries' Dignity, Opportunity, and Respect Committee organized the event to create intergenerational conversations about difficult history. Young people and adults will sit together, listen together, and process these important lessons as a community.

Why This Inspires

Stories like Hilde's survive because families choose to remember and share them. Gernsheimer could have kept his mother's experience private, but instead he travels to libraries and community centers to ensure her resilience teaches future generations.

The Kindertransport rescued nearly 10,000 children, most of whom never saw their parents again. These weren't distant historical figures but real kids who boarded trains alone, crossed borders without knowing the language, and somehow found the strength to rebuild their lives.

By making the event free and family-friendly, the library ensures that economic barriers won't prevent anyone from learning. The Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks partnered on the program, demonstrating how communities unite to preserve and honor difficult truths.

For those who cannot attend or want to explore further, the Reading District Libraries offer related books through their Libby digital collection, including "Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust" and "We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport."

Registration is encouraged but the doors remain open to all who wish to listen, learn, and remember alongside their neighbors.