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HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SPEAKS OF FEAR AND HOPE
By Keith Hagarty
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| --Photo By Keith Hagarty Shedding tears and bringing a message of hope to a full house at the Jackson Library on Wednesday, Isabelle Unger speaks of surviving the Holocaust during her presentation of "My Name Is Not Isabelle Maindiaux." |
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Isabelle Unger spent her childhood far away from her parents, not knowing if they were dead or alive, shuffled into the care of strangers, hiding from one home to another.
All in a desperate attempt to elude capture by the Nazis.
Coinciding with Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on April 15, Unger spoke to a packed house at the Jackson branch of the Ocean County Library last Wednesday about her struggles and experiences in her native Belgium during the height of World War II. She shared her memories, both good and bad, of a time not so long ago.
The 72-year old Unger is currently a resident of Four Seasons Metedeconk, Jackson, and has spoken at several schools. Her story has also been relayed on several television shows, including a profile on Eyewitness News, a documentary on Holocaust survivors in New York and is part of Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.
"My Name Is Not Isabelle Maindiaux" is Unger's personal journey, beginning as a 6 year old Jewish girl in Antwerp, Belgium on the brink of the German occupation.
While the Jews were probably the most prominent group hunted by the German government, Unger spoke of how anyone considered "different" was a prime target of the Nazi genocide.
"If you had anything that wasn't perfect, they didn't want you to live," she said.
Sensing the ever-increasing danger, Unger's family decided to get out of Belgium while they could.
"We ran away to France because we heard that in France it was much safer," said Unger. "Well, that was not the case."
"We slept in a shelter on the floor, and the rats ate the clothes off my back," she said. "There were more holes than clothes."
After months of squalor, sickness and impending threats and bombings, the Ungers decided to return to Belgium.
Unger recalled one Saturday when she and her father visited with a local priest, a family friend who tried to help the family. While they were away from home, they soon learned that German soldiers had entered their home searching for them. Thankfully, she recalled, her mother was not home at the time.
"After that, it became very dangerous to stay home," she said.
Although they were home, the Nazi presence was far too close. Fearing for her safety, Unger recalled the moment when her parents made the decision to send her off on a train.
"Could you imagine me parents having to sit me down and tell I had to go away?" she asked. "On the train, I cried the entire way."
Throughout the war, Unger was taken in by three families who protected her from harm, with fear of being captured permeating her daily existence. With vivid recollections of loneliness and despair, Unger reflected on how she was reminded of that there are no absolutes when it comes to human kindness. There is good and bad in every culture and every walk of life, she said, and thanked God for those kind souls who helped her stay alive.
"I think in life we get strength where we least expect it," said Unger.
Following the war, Unger was reunited with her parents, a moment she said that still brings tears to her eyes.
At 15, Unger moved to America, living in Washington Heights, New York. She later became a school psychologist and met her husband, a Polish Holocaust survivor. The two have a daughter, Susan, who attended her presentation.
Watching Unger mix her optimistic glow with somber reality tugged at the heart strings of Carol Winkler, of Four Seasons Metedeconk.
"She's vivacious and energetic," said Winkler. Now living in the same retirement community as Unger, Winkler has heard her tell her tale on numerous occasions, and each time is amazed at the emotion and heart-wrenching fear and ultimate hope that Unger went through.
"When you hear her speak, it's a whole other experience and not what you're expecting," said Winkler, amazed at the amount of good-natured spirit, compassion and charming wit Unger brings to her presentation.
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