"No one knows what happened to six year old Rolf Hess"

The Holocaust tragedy keeps
resurfacing. This past May, a gende-
man with no foreign accent arrived
in the Library and after mustering
great courage, announced, "I am a
Holocaust survivor." He had come to
the Library to see if he might find out
about his background.
He identified himself as Rolf Hess
from Malsch, Gemany. He remembers
that as a young child, he was deported
to a nearby town with his grandfather,
Simon Hess, and mother, Rosa Hess,
and was separated from them, possi-
bly in a police station. From there he
recalls boarding a train and being put
into a children's home, where he main-
tained written contact with his mother
and grandfather.
We gave Hess the Library Archive
copy of the memorial book for Malsch.
There were quite a few Hesses men-
tioned, but he did not recognize any
of the names...at first. He decided to
return with some documentation.
A week later, Hess returned with
63 letters and some other items in a
box. He had received the letters from
his mother and grandfather, "Mutty'
and "Oppa," from the Gurs concentra-

tion camp addressed to the Maison
des Pupilles, Aspet, France. For the
most part, the letters inquired about
his health and well-being, but in one
of the later letters, there was detailed
biographical information about his
grandfather and mother "in case
he should need it." The censor had
blacked out some phrases and occa-
sionally Mutty wrote "regards from the
whole barrack." The final letter, dated
July, 1942, was one which he had
written to his mother and grandfather
in German. It was returned to him be-
cause his mother and grandfather were
no longer in Gurs. The box contained
carefully-mended tsitsit (the four-cor-
nered garment Orthodox Jewish males
wear), which he remembers wearing
in Malsch, in the children's home, and
on the ship. The other memento was a
colored drawing he did en route to the
United States showing two ships, one
pursuing the other, with the second
ship flying a Nazi flag. Amazingly,
Hess does not remember any German
and was unable to read the Malsch
memorial book or any of the letters,
including the one he himself had writ-
ten!

800 other refugees. Unfortunately,

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Now, we thoroughly searched
the Malsch book and noted
every Hess mentioned. There,
among the discussions of several
Malsch Hess families, was the
statement "No one knows what
happened to Rolf Hess at the
deportation. Equally unknown
is the fate of... Rosa Hess,
who must have disappeared in
Auschwitz... as well as Simon
Hess." Yet, Rolf Hess stood
here before us, alive and well,
Rolf Hess'tsitsit ("fringes") and last letter to his mother and
unaware that he, his mother and
grandfather in Gurs, France
grandfather had been recorded
the papers arrived too late for his
as missing persons. Hess con-
grandfather and mother.
tinued his research and found in the
Hess has commissioned someone to
Memorial to the Jews Deported from
translate
the letters and he is contact-
France 1942 -44 that his mother and
ing
the
Malsch
City Archives and the
grandfather were sent to Auschwitz on
author of the memorial book. He is
August 10, 1942, with Convoy 17.
trying to find a fellow shipmate who
Hess' grandfather's brother in Ohio
travelled with him across the Atlantic.
had tried to secure proper documenta-
After
all these years, he feels that it is
tion for his family to come to safety
time to fill in the missing pieces of his
in the United States. He was partially
family
history, for himself and his fam-
successful; Rolf Hess came to the
ily.
He
is grateful to the HMCZFC
United States via Portugal, where he
for having the resources to help and
and 38 other children were put onto
making them available to him.
the Portuguese steamer Nyassa with

Find us on

By Dr. Stuart Falk

Face book

Our docents belong to a unique
and enthusiastic group — a family of
dedicated and knowledgeable people.
They donate their time conducting
guided tours for our many daily visi-
tors — more than 100,000 annually
— who come to learn about European
Jewish culture, the enormity of the
Holocaust, the righteousness of the
very few, and our responsibility to the
future. Each visitor can look forward
to an educational presentation of his-
tory delivered by a person who has met
a high standard for certification as a
docent.
Docents use continuing
education courses to strengthen the
quality of their presentation, attending
lectures, keeping abreast of research
via the library, and using their own
lending shelves of books related to
the subject. Some guides have been
asked to speak in schools and to vari-

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twikker

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yel

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ous community groups. Docents are
devoted to their task and take pride in
their proficiency and expertise. Their
reward is a sense of accomplishment
and knowing that a seed of moral
accountability has been planted with
those that are present.
Docents take their assignments
seriously. They strive to illuminate
the past and promote awareness of the
obligations we have to the present and
the future. All sixty-five of our do-
cents share similar goals and an active,
lasting friendship. Working together
with the Docent Steering Committee,
which maintains communication
among docents, the docents form a
team related and committed to a com-
mon cause. The result is an unequaled
comradeship.
For information regarding pro-
spective docent classes in 2011,
please contact Dr. Stuart Falk at
248.855.2152 or Robert Zuckerberg at
248.626.0123.

HMC Tribute Cards get a new look!

We are pleased to offer five new tribute card designs appropriate for commemorat-
ing significant events: a friend's birthday, a birth, or honoring a loved one's memory.
With a minimum donation of $10 to the Holocaust Memorial Center, each card is
personalized with the names of the honoree and the donor and can be further custom-
ized to include a brief personal message. Furthermore, your donation supports our
efforts to provide state-of-the-art exhibits and educational opportunities for more than
100,000 visitors each year.

Peace

Summer 2010 I

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CF_NTER
ZEKELMAN FAMILY CAMPUS

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