United States Holocaust Memorial Museum;Ilse Sakheim's childhood was marked by gradually increasing antisemitism in Germany—beginning with schoolyard taunts and escalating to state-sponsored violence.

 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

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Ilse Sakheim's childhood was marked by gradually increasing antisemitism in Germany—beginning with schoolyard taunts and escalating to state-sponsored violence.

“They were starting to not let Jews go to the swimming pool, not let Jews go to the skating rink, not to allow you to sit on certain park benches,” remembered Ilse (pictured, left). “They had signs up in the stores, which said ‘Aryan’ … . Pretty soon after that, the stores didn't just say ‘Aryan,’ but they said ‘Jews not wanted.’”

On April 1, 1933, when she was seven years old, armed Nazi Storm Troopers stood outside her father’s retail store, prohibiting customers from entering. Her father, Kurt, had to close the store shortly thereafter. In the years that followed, Ilse watched her classmates join the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls. They began taunting her, calling her a “bloody Jew.”

When she was 13, Ilse came home from school only to learn that her father had been arrested in the aftermath of Kristallnacht, a night of widespread violence against Jews in November 1938. He remained in the Buchenwald concentration camp for three grueling months.

Understanding the gravity of their situation, Ilse’s parents worked desperately to get Ilse out of Germany. In April 1939, Kurt and Sophie, Ilse’s mother, said goodbye to their only child as Ilse boarded a Kindertransport train bound for England. After the war, Ilse learned that her parents had been murdered at Auschwitz.

“I think people really need to be aware that … they have to take action, and that they can't just sit and allow masses of people to be tortured and slaughtered and treated in this terrible, terrible way. And I remember that my father said to me, you have to go to the world, and you have to tell people what happened. And I think that I'm really following what he said.”

Photo: USHMM, courtesy of Ilse Sakheim

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitism?utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=antisemitism&utm_content=antisemitism:ilsesakheim20231031

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Jews being attacked in the streets, threatened on college campuses—targeted simply for being Jewish. It is happening today in the United States and abroad. Read the Museum’s statement on the surge in dangerous antisemitism.

 

Jews being attacked in the streets, threatened on college campuses—targeted simply for being Jewish. It is happening today in the United States and abroad. Read the Museum’s statement on the surge in dangerous antisemitism. We know antisemitism didn’t start or end with the Holocaust, but this history teaches us where it can lead if left unchecked. The Museum’s educational resources can help address this dangerous trend. Help us expand our reach by sharing the stories and resources below. What you do matters. ‌ Lesson Plans Explore the History of Antisemitism and Nazi Racism Share with a teacher >> Confronting Hate by Sharing the Facts on Social Media Follow the Museum >> ‌ ‌ Museum Videos Define Antisemitism and Explore Its Long History Watch and share >> Learn More about the Importance of Israel to Holocaust Survivors Read the article >> ‌ Collection of More than 900 Artifacts Reveals Centuries of Anti-Jewish Hatred Explore and share >> Why R. Derek Black Renounced the White Supremacist Movement Watch and share >> ‌ NEW EPISODE | STAY CONNECTED LIVE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 9:30 A.M. ET The Night of Broken Glass: A Warning of Future Nazi Crimes Remind me to watch this free, virtual program >> Photos: Advertising poster for the antisemitic film, Der ewige Jude ("The Eternal Jew"), directed by Fritz Hippler, Germany, circa 1940. USHMM, courtesy of Museum fur Deutsche Geschie; Supporters of the National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist political group, give the Nazi salute at an undisclosed location in Georgia, United States, on April 21, 2018. Go Nakamura/Reuters; These Holocaust survivors were en route to British-controlled Palestine in April 1947 when their ship was intercepted by the British Navy and they were deported to detention camps in Cyprus. Central Zionist Archives; Antisemitic artifacts in the Museum’s collection. USHMM, gift of the Katz Family; R. Derek Black speaks at the 2018 Global Issues Forum. USHMM; On the morning after Kristallnacht, local residents watch as fire destroys the Ober Ramstadt synagogue. USHMM, courtesy of Trudy Isenberg ‌ Donate to Keep Holocaust Memory Alive DONATE Stay Connected ‌ UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2126 Main telephone: 202.488.0400 TTY: 202.488.0406 VIEW IN BROWSER