Northern Michigan

Finding 'humanity' amidst the Holocaust: a TC family's story

Interlochen Public Radio | By Morgan Springer

Published May 5, 2016 at 3:28 PM EDT

(Left to right) Steve, Bob and Lil Adler grew up in Traverse City. Their parents escaped the Holocaust and were sponsored by a local synagogue.

In 1939 a young Jewish family fled their home in Vienna to escape the Holocaust. Henry and Ilse Adler and their baby came to Traverse City when they were sponsored by Congregation Beth Shalom, formerly Congregation Beth El.

Julius and Bella Goetz, Ilse Adler's parents, fled Vienna for Hungary. They were most likely killed sometime during the Holocaust.

But they didn’t know what had happened to family they’d left behind.

Then in 1948, three years after World War II ended, Ilse got a letter from her parents. It was written on toilet paper in diary form, describing how they'd fled from Vienna to Hungary.

Ilse and her sister translated the letter from German into English. They also wrote an introduction and epilogue to go with the letter.

The Adler’s children, Steve and Bob Adler and Lil Ostendorf, are presenting their family story at the Dennos Museum Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m.