metro Kindertranspor 4 qeunion Local survivors in London to honor 75th anniversary of the lifesaving program. I Barbara Lewis Contributing Writer S outhfield neighbors Edith Maniker and Rosie Baum recently traveled to London for a reunion they wish they'd never been invited to. In 1939, in the nine months leading up to World War II, they and 10,000 other children aged 5-17 were sent from Germany and Nazi-occupied countries to safety in England. The rescue effort became known as the Kindertransport. Baum was 11 when she left Schweinfurt, Germany (near Frankfurt), in April of 1939. Maniker was 8 when her parents put her on a train in Leipzig, Germany, in July of 1939. Her older sister had left a few weeks earlier. Her parents told her she was going to meet her sister in England for a holiday and that they'd join her soon. She never saw them again. The women, now almost-next-door neighbors in Southfield, returned to London in June to celebrate the pro- gram's 75th anniversary. About 400 Kindertransport children, most of them in their 80s, attended the June 23 event. "People came from all over, from the United States, Australia, France, Belgium, Israel. It was very exciting," said Maniker, 82. The day after the reunion, Charles, Prince of Wales, hosted the Kindertransport participants at a luncheon at St. James Palace. Maniker gave the prince a copy of the Kindertransport Memory Quilt book, a gift from the Holocaust Memorial Center (HMC) in Farmington Hills, where Maniker volunteers as a docent. Created by the Kindertransport Association, the memory quilts consist of squares created by Kindertransport par- 'Find A Spiritual Place' Series At Adat Shalom Join Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills to "Find a Spiritual Place for Yourself" on four Sundays. Rabbi Bergman's hamakOhm Rabbi Aaron program is set for 9:30 Bergman a.m. Sept. 22, Oct. 13 and 27, and Nov. 17. Participants of all ages are invited to discover internal spirituality and realize that Judaism can make one happier. Sessions will continue throughout the 24 September 5 • 2013 Edith Maniker and Rosie Baum, both of Southfield, attended the Kindertransport reunion in London. ticipants, each one reflecting the creator's experience. Three large quilts and two smaller ones, with a total of 65 squares, are on display at the HMC. "Prince Charles was very gracious and welcoming," Maniker said. "He made everyone feel very welcome. He made each one of us feel that whatever we had to say was interesting." Baum went to the reunion with her daughter, Debbie Jacobs of New York, one of her three children. She enjoyed show- ing Jacobs the sights of London, which she remembered from so long ago. Her husband, Henry, a retired public school principal, is also a Kindertransport alum- nus, but he did not go to the reunion. Saving Children British Jews proposed the idea for the Kindertransport to Parliament soon after Nov. 9, 1938. That was Kristallnacht, the infamous "Night of Broken Glass" when year. Individuals may attend any one or all — each session is a separate experi- ence. There is no charge. For information, call (248) 851-5100. Beth El Book Groups Begin Monday Series The "Bagels & Books" and "Books & Bites" groups of Temple Beth El's Prentis Memorial Library and the Temple Sisterhood announce their 2013-2014 series. The two groups will meet on selected Mondays: "Bagels & Books" at 10 a.m. and "Books & Bites" at 7 p.m. in the Bloomfield Township temple. Facilitators are Rabbi Keren Alpert of Temple Beth El; Eileen Polk, Prentis Memorial Library the Nazis rampaged throughout Germany and Austria in widespread, state-sanc- tioned pogroms, beating up and killing Jews, burning synagogues and trashing Jewish stores. "Every Jewish family in Germany and Austria was affected by Kristallnacht — every one," Maniker said. By early December, trains full of chil- dren were rolling out of Berlin, Vienna and Prague. The program continued until Sept. 1, 1939, when World War II started. Many of the children were taken in by foster families in London and in the countryside. Others were housed in refu- gee hostels run by the Habonim and B'nei Akiva Zionist youth movements. Baum, now 85, who was Orthodox, was taken in by an Orthodox family in London, with whom she stayed for sev- eral years. By then, her older sister, who came on a Kindertransport a few months after she did, was living in an apartment. librarian; Marilyn Schelberg, Judaic edu- cator; and Barbara Goldsmith, educator. The series opens Sept. 23 with a discus- sion of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. The novel takes its nar- rator, a 40-year-old man, back to the time when he was 7 and the world was a magi- cal and frightening place. Eileen Polk will be the facilitator. Cost of the series is $30. There is a $10 per session drop-in fee. To register, call Polk at (248) 851-1100, ext. 3138. B'nai Moshe Education Includes K-8 Classes L.I.EE. (Learning is a Family Experience) is a Conservative Jewish educational Baum lived with her until her sister mar- ried, and then she moved to a hostel for refugee children. Maniker lived with a foster family in London, but then the British govern- ment evacuated every school-age child in London to the countryside, Britons and refugees alike. After several months the children returned to London, only to be evacuated again during the Blitz. When her foster family could no longer care for her, Maniker went to a Habonim hostel. "Most of the people I met during that time were very kind:' Maniker said. "Some of the families were poor. Their houses were not as nice as what I was used to. But they made room for me. I was never hungry:' After the war, the Kindertransport chil- dren scattered. A lucky few were reunited with a parent. Many more learned that they were the only members of their families to survive the Holocaust. Some of the children stayed in England, but many went to other coun- tries where they had relatives. Maniker and her sister had an aunt and uncle in Detroit, so that's where they went. She has lived in the same Southfield house for 52 years, raising her three children. Her husband, Art, died a year and a half ago. Baum, who lives two doors away from Maniker, went to New York to join cous- ins. Henry Baum, whom Rosie met in the refugee hostel, went to New York after the war as well, and that's where they mar- ried. They moved to Detroit in 1949. Maniker got letters from her parents until 1940. She never learned exactly what happened to them. Baum's parents were taken to the Theresienstadt concentration camp and transferred to Auschwitz, where they were murdered. ❑ program for grades K-12 at Congregation B'nai Moshe in West Bloomfield. The kindergarten (with free tuition) meets Shabbat mornings. Other levels include first-seventh grades, which meet Shabbat mornings from 9:15-11:45 a.m. and Tuesdays from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Ninth through 12th grades meet Shabbat mornings from 10:15-11:45 a.m. Eighth grade meets at "Monday Night School" from 6:45-8 p.m. (and may also attend Shabbat morning at no addi- tional charge). Classes begin Sept. 17. For registration information, contact Gail Gales, director of education and youth, at (248) 788-3600 or cbmedu@bnaimoshe.org .