Judith Hemmendinger
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Judith Hemmendinger (born October 2, 1923) is a German-born Israeli researcher and author specializing in child survivors of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. During World War II, she was a social worker and refugee counselor for the
Œuvre de secours aux enfants Œuvre de secours aux enfants (, Children's Aid Society), abbreviated OSE is a French Jewish humanitarian organization which was founded in Russia in 1912 to help Russian Jewish children. Later it moved to France. OSE's most important activitie ...
(OSE), a French Jewish children's aid organization based in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, and from 1945 to 1947, she directed a home for child survivors of
Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...
in France. She has authored books and papers on the Holocaust experiences and later lives of child survivors. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2003.


Early life

She was born Judith Feist in
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...
, Germany, to Phillip Feist, a native of
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
who worked as a mining engineer, and his wife Hannah, nee Eisenmann. She was a great granddaughter of Eliezer Liepman Philip Prins. Her family was
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
and well-off. She was the second of five children. When she was five years old, her father found employment in the Parisian suburb of
Eaubonne Eaubonne () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Twin towns It is twinned with Matlock, Derbyshire, England; Budenheim, Germany and Vălenii ...
and moved the family to France. As the only Jews in their locale, the Feist children attended public school, where they spoke French and learned secular subjects, while, at home, they spoke German and were tutored in Hebrew and the Bible. When her older sister began high school, Judith's family moved to Paris.


World War II

The outbreak of war in September 1939 found the Feists on their annual summer vacation in
Megève Megève (; frp, Megéva) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French ...
, southern France. Phillip Feist was arrested as an
enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...
and deported to a detention camp in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. The rest of the family was assigned to a house in Megève. Upon Phillip's release in June 1940, the family traveled to
Roanne Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fre ...
in the French Free Zone. However, German officials advised Phillip to return to Paris, while his wife and children stayed in Roanne. Later, Phillip traveled to
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
to open a school, at the behest of Rabbi
Schneour Zalman Schneersohn Schneour Zalman Schneersohn (1898–1980) was a Lubavitch Hasidic Chief Rabbi who was active in France during World War II.During the Nazi occupation of France, he ran homes for children who had been separated from their families, providing them ...
. He was arrested at the Nice train station and interned in the
Gurs internment camp Gurs internment camp was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at the e ...
. He was afterwards deported to the
Drancy internment camp Drancy internment camp was an assembly and detention camp for confining Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps during the German occupation of France during World War II. Originally conceived and built as a modernist urban commu ...
and on to Auschwitz in September 1943, where he was murdered on the same day he arrived. In summer 1942, Judith began working at a youth hostel for hidden children operated by the
Œuvre de secours aux enfants Œuvre de secours aux enfants (, Children's Aid Society), abbreviated OSE is a French Jewish humanitarian organization which was founded in Russia in 1912 to help Russian Jewish children. Later it moved to France. OSE's most important activitie ...
(OSE), a French Jewish children's aid organization based in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
. On January 1, 1943, she traveled under the alias of Jacqueline Fournier to Taluyers, and joined a covert
hakhshara Hakhshara ( he, הַכְשָׁרָה; also transliterated Hachshara or Hakhsharah) is a Hebrew word that literally means "preparation". The term is used for training programs and agricultural centres in Europe and elsewhere. At these centers Zioni ...
(Zionist agricultural training institute) operated by the
Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs israélites de France The Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs israélites de France (EEIF, ''Jewish Guides and Scouts of France'') is a Jewish Scouting and Guiding organization in France. It was founded in 1923 and serves about 4,000 members. The EEIF is a member of the F ...
under the guise of an agricultural school. The student body of 22 young Jewish men and women all carried false papers. She developed a relationship with one of the students, Claude Hemmendinger, but in September 1943, her mother called her to accompany her and her younger siblings on an escape to Switzerland, following her father's arrest. The family trekked over the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
with a guide, but was arrested after crossing the border and was detained in Geneva. After their release, they were sent to a refugee camp, where Judith worked as a teacher. She applied for a six-month course being offered by the OSE to train social workers "to deal with the post-war situation", and was accepted. As part of her job, she interviewed child refugees traveling under false papers to find out their true identities, with the goal of re-uniting them with their families after the war. In May 1945, she responded to the OSE's call for volunteers to care for child survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp. She traveled to the Chateau d'Ambloy in Loir-et-Cher, France, where a home had been set up for 90 to 100 teenage boys from Orthodox homes who had requested kosher facilities and a higher level of religious observance than that being provided to the larger group of Buchenwald child survivors in France. Though only 22 years of age, Judith replaced the director, who found it difficult to relate to the youth. She stayed with the home on its move to the Chateau de Vaucelles in
Taverny Taverny () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Tabernaciens''. History In 1806 the commune of Taverny merged with the neighboring commune of Saint-Leu, r ...
in October 1945, and remained as its director until September 1947, when the last child had found a permanent placement.Schmidt, Shira, and Mantaka, Bracha. "A Prince in a Castle". ''
Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...
'', September 21, 2014, pp. 136–143.
Among the boys under her care were
Yisrael Meir Lau Yisrael Meir Lau ( he, ישראל מאיר לאו; born 1 June 1937) served as the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003. Biography Early life ...
, the future
Chief Rabbi of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...
; his brother Naphtali Lau-Lavie; Menashe Klein, the future Ungvarer Rav; and Elie Wiesel. Explaining her success with the boys, who had displayed extreme trauma and anxieties upon their arrival in France, she said: "I loved them, I never judged them, I became attached to them, and I felt that it was reciprocal". After the home closed, Judith went to London to stay with her aunt and uncle. There, she received a letter from Claude Hemmendinger, her fellow student at the hakhshara, who wished to see her again. They met in Paris and were married in September 1948. At first, they settled on a kibbutz in
Beit She'an Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is be ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, but returned to Claude's mother's home in Strasbourg after the death of his father. They resided in Strasbourg for 20 years. They had two sons and one daughter.


Education and research

In Strasbourg, Judith Hemmendinger began seeing a psychotherapist to work through her wartime experiences. Upon the family's return to Israel in 1969, she undertook a formal education, earning her bachelor's degree in Jerusalem, her master's degree at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
, and her PhD at the
University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...
in 1981. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Rehabilitation of Young Camp Survivors after the Death Camps". In 1982 she published the paper "Psychosocial adjustment 30 years later of people who were in Nazi concentration camps as children". In 1984 she co-authored, with Elie Wiesel, ''Les enfants de Buchenwald: que sont devenus les 1000 enfants juifs sauvés en 1945?'' (The children of Buchenwald: What became of the 1,000 Jewish children rescued in 1945?) (Favre, 1984), and in 1986, ''Survivors: Children of the Holocaust'' (National Press, 1986). Dr. Robert Krell, a Holocaust survivor, saw the Dutch translation of the 1984 book, and in 2000 he translated it into English with supplementary material under the title ''The Children of Buchenwald: Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Their Post-war Lives'' (Gefen, 2000). Hemmendinger remained in contact with the Buchenwald children and their offspring for years. In 1970 she was invited by the child survivors to a dinner commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald. In 2003 she was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her work to rehabilitate the child survivors of Buchenwald.


Bibliography

* * * * (with Dr. Robert Krell) * * (with Elie Wiesel)


References


Sources

* * * *


External links


The Feist children pose on the steps of their home dressed in Purim costumes, March 1, 1934
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmendinger, Judith Living people 1923 births French social workers Israeli women writers University of Strasbourg alumni Bar-Ilan University alumni People from Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Recipients of the Legion of Honour German emigrants to France French emigrants to Israel