Please-Don't Forget Me!
(opposite):
Anne Kramer rests in the
lobby of Borman Hall.
(left):
Frieda Baum kisses
a puppet.
tas says. "We left everything. I even left my
shoes, and shoes are my most beloved thing."
They wanted to move to the United States,
but by then World War II was in full force and
the Americans weren't interested in taking
in refugees. Still, Goldoftas and her husband
traveled by train to Spain, where they heard
they might be able to secure a visa to the
United States.
Spanish authorities said they could not
help the Goldoftas family, but said the cou-
ple might be able to get a U.S. visa in Por-
tugal. So off they went.
Eventually, the Goldoftases were able to
gain entry to the United States. They came
over on the last boat leaving Portugal for
America. They had no money at the time, so
they paid it back, $2 a month, once they found
work in the United States.
"America did so much good for us!" Goldof-
tas says. "You have no idea."
The couple settled in Detroit, where her
husband worked as principal of the Hayim
Greenberg School. Among his students was
future Michigan senator Carl Levin.
Now, Goldoftas lives at Borman Hall in a
room covered with old photos. Her days, like
those of the other residents here, revolve
around Bingo and old movies and meals made
soft for the palate.
She says she has no complaints about her
life, that it was full and rich. But as she sits
here alone in the quiet and dark night she
looks up, with the most terrible fear in her
eyes: the fear of being forgotten forever. As
though, as an old Russian proverb says, "You
will die and be gone and it shall be as though
you never lived."
Goldoftas smiles politely, kindly and
whispers: "Please! Don't forget me!"
❑
32
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1990