by
Hanna Kalter
Weiss
The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “scud” as to move
or run swiftly especially as if driven forward. This definition
belies the danger and immediacy of Hanna’s forced drive forward
to survive and eventually create a new life.
Hanna Kalter was a typical teenager when the Nazis came to power
in Germany. But on Kristallnacht, when mobs destroyed the synagogue
and Jewish property, and ransacked her home, Hanna’s parents shipped
her and her sister Ruth off to safety in free Holland on the Kindertransport.
Thus began her long sojourn as a refugee, living briefly with
Dutch Jewish families and for years in children’s homes. Hanna
hated the humility of being a refugee – and then things got much
worse when the Nazi’s conquered Holland and the Gestapo moved
in next door.
Through all this, Hanna tried to live her life – to get an education,
learn a skill, make friends, find a boyfriend. She didn’t lose
her cool, even when she and her sister were deported to a concentration
camp.
And she was always waiting…waiting for her parents to send for
her….
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