My name is John Adler. I was born September 17, , 1923 in Goldberg, Germany. My mother had a store.They had to give up the store because antisemitism became strong. She was a nice person, loved by the whole family. [My father] was a house painter. They had no problem with the neighbors, but as time evolved, they all became partially Nazis.
I remember on Kristallnacht [in November 1938] the synagogue was burned. Burned to the ground. I was standing at the window, watching the flames. Oh, my. I was very angry. Very, very angry - they’re burning MY synagogue. The fire brigades came and were told to let it burn. They were standing around. There was one family living across from the synagogue and they just disappeared. That prompted allJews to realize that you cannot live in Germany, because there were some that had thought “It can’t last. Hitler can’t last; it’s going to blow over.” But it didn’t blow over, obviously.
We learned my uncle Jacob was put in jail. He was interrogated and beaten every day. Three weeks later, his wife got a call from the Gestapo that her husband had hung himself.
After this, all of my cousins and my parents went to travel office to buy tickets for Shanghai, the only country at that time who did not request a visa. In the meantime, I had joined a Jewish club, Bar Kochba.We had meetings, and we were talking about Israel, and I’d made up my mind. That is where I'm going to go if I have to leave Germany, because they’re Jewish. And my parents, of course, said: “No, you're going with us.” So one Saturday night, when my parents were visiting with someone in the house, I wrote a note, put it on the kitchen table, broke my piggy bank, and left. I bought a one-way ticket toBerlin to get a visa for Palestine. It took a lot of begging and they finally said ok.
I went to a preparation camp for life in a kibbutz in a village between Breslau and Berlin. I opened up like a butterfly. I left Germany with this group on August 30, 1939, one day before the invasion of Poland.My mother had sent my passport to Berlin. One day before we were to leave, my passport was missing.It was a tragedy. In the morning, the director called Berlin and asked for permission to hire a car that he and I can drive to Breslau so I can plead with them to give me an exit visa. I had no travel permit. We boarded an Italian ship.
When I arrived in Palestine in Haifa, there were school children and flags and they sang the Hatikvah, and I was happy. Shortly after I turned 18, I joined the army. We were transferred to Egypt. The army was not fun. Three years in the desert, the Sahara, was no fun.
About halfway through [WW2] I was called to the commandant’s office and he had a telegram for me. It told me that my parents are alive and well in Shanghai. They had received an affidavit to come to theUnited States. And frankly, I had promised them to go wherever you can and I'll follow. I came on a former Liberty Boat - and when the ship came into New York through the Statue of Liberty, we cried and we laughed.
My name is John Adler. I was born September 17, , 1923 in Goldberg, Germany. My mother had a store.They had to give up the store because antisemitism became strong. She was a nice person, loved by the whole family. [My father] was a house painter. They had no problem with the neighbors, but as time evolved, they all became partially Nazis.
I remember on Kristallnacht [in November 1938] the synagogue was burned. Burned to the ground. I was standing at the window, watching the flames. Oh, my. I was very angry. Very, very angry - they’re burning MY synagogue. The fire brigades came and were told to let it burn. They were standing around. There was one family living across from the synagogue and they just disappeared. That prompted allJews to realize that you cannot live in Germany, because there were some that had thought “It can’t last. Hitler can’t last; it’s going to blow over.” But it didn’t blow over, obviously.
We learned my uncle Jacob was put in jail. He was interrogated and beaten every day. Three weeks later, his wife got a call from the Gestapo that her husband had hung himself.
After this, all of my cousins and my parents went to travel office to buy tickets for Shanghai, the only country at that time who did not request a visa. In the meantime, I had joined a Jewish club, Bar Kochba.We had meetings, and we were talking about Israel, and I’d made up my mind. That is where I'm going to go if I have to leave Germany, because they’re Jewish. And my parents, of course, said: “No, you're going with us.” So one Saturday night, when my parents were visiting with someone in the house, I wrote a note, put it on the kitchen table, broke my piggy bank, and left. I bought a one-way ticket toBerlin to get a visa for Palestine. It took a lot of begging and they finally said ok.
I went to a preparation camp for life in a kibbutz in a village between Breslau and Berlin. I opened up like a butterfly. I left Germany with this group on August 30, 1939, one day before the invasion of Poland.My mother had sent my passport to Berlin. One day before we were to leave, my passport was missing.It was a tragedy. In the morning, the director called Berlin and asked for permission to hire a car that he and I can drive to Breslau so I can plead with them to give me an exit visa. I had no travel permit. We boarded an Italian ship.
When I arrived in Palestine in Haifa, there were school children and flags and they sang the Hatikvah, and I was happy. Shortly after I turned 18, I joined the army. We were transferred to Egypt. The army was not fun. Three years in the desert, the Sahara, was no fun.
About halfway through [WW2] I was called to the commandant’s office and he had a telegram for me. It told me that my parents are alive and well in Shanghai. They had received an affidavit to come to theUnited States. And frankly, I had promised them to go wherever you can and I'll follow. I came on a former Liberty Boat - and when the ship came into New York through the Statue of Liberty, we cried and we laughed.