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Welcome, fellow world-citizen and web-traveler;
This page is a tribute to our dear father: Henry Lewis, born Heinz Laufer, a "kindertransport holocaust survivor (sent to safety in England)" who went on to live a full, joyful life. As well, it serves to educate about the Terezin camp (also known as Theresienstadt), where our grandmother perished. Both the Kindertransport and Terezin are lesser known yet integral facets of holocaust history, so it is our hope to create more awareness of them through this website.
Dad was a true communicator and a 'natural' teacher. As far back as we can remember, people would pay rapt attention to him as he gently and generously shared his stories - all so that others might learn and understand.
Quite simply put, he was a "mensch" (měnsh):
A person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose: "He radiates the kind of fundamental decency that has a name in Yiddish; he's a mensch" (James Atlas). * From the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Sadly, he very recently left us (December 24, 2007), so it is his legacy that we now continue to retell his tales, in his memory.
We miss him so ... But in our minds, we can still clearly hear his voice.
Thanks for visiting, reading, and especially CARING.
PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT THIS PAGE. And PLEASE feel free to ASK questions.
Peace. Mir. Shalom. Salaam. Paz. Paix. Frieden. Smirom. Shanti. Vrede. Hetep. Tutkium. Pace. Wakiijiwebisi. Heiwa. Rongo. Ke. Zhide ...
Heinz's Grown Children
WHO WAS HEINZ LAUFER?
"Obituary for Henry Lewis"
(Born Heinz Jindrich Josef Laufer)
May 21, 1924 to December 24, 2007
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Henry Lewis, suddenly at the Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, on Monday December 24th, 2007 in his 84th year. Henry was predeceased by his devoted wife Edith (Pat) Lewis (nee Anderson, formerly of Belfast, Northern Ireland and daughter of a staunch Ulster Protestant "Orangeman"!) of Prescott, and was the dear father of David, Patricia, Brenda and loving grandfather of Shannon. He was more recently cherished by special friend Marge Scrutton.
HENRY LEWIS was born and originally named HEINZ JINDRICH JOSEF LAUFER on May 21, 1924 in the city of Teplice Sanov, Capitol of the Province of Northern Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, to parents Otto Laufer and Elsa Bloch. He received his schooling in Czechoslovakia until 1939, just before WWII, when his parents, assisted by the Kindertransport program, thankfully sent him to England to escape the Nazis.
It was there, in England where he officially changed his name to Henry Lewis for the reason of self-preservation. He chose the name from a London phone book! Both of his parents and his younger brother George (Jiri / Max) Laufer predeceased him during the holocaust (his mother in Terezin, and, his father and brother in Auschwitz). Sadly, it is believed that Jiri lived to only 13 years of age.In his later years, Henry put a great deal of effort into holocaust research and education for future generations, yet never became bitter.
Next, while still in England, he worked as an apprentice carpenter until 1944, when he proudly served in the U.K. Forces as a language interpreter until 1947. During that time, he met his future wife Pat (also in the U.K. Forces) and they enjoyed a colourful, joyful courtship while working and travelling in Britain and Europe as part the troops, before marrying in London, England on May 30, 1950.
After the war, he worked as a manager at a U.K. scientific publishing company (Maxwell) from 1947-1952. After immigrating to Canada with his wife, he was employed by RCA Victor in Montreal from 1952-1957, continuing with RCA in Prescott, Ontario where over the years, he worked his way through many roles (including union stewardship) up to management, before his retirement in 1985. He was highly respected among his co-workers for fairness, wisdom and encouraging demeanour, for which many regularly contacted him for professional advice even after retiring.
Since 1967, Henry was an active member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 97 (Prescott, Ontario) and for decades a proud member of The Queen's Regiment Association. His deep concern for conservation of our natural world led him to three decades of 'hands-on' membership in the Eager Beavers Camping Club (Brockville Chapter) and the National Campers and Hikers Association. Both Henry and his wife Pat were 'politics buffs', and passionate social and human rights activists. Henry remained a member of the Consumers' Association, Canadian Association of Retired Persons and the British Pensioners Association.
The loss of his own family at such an early age made Henry a truly dedicated family man when it came to the time when he would raise his own children with Pat. Although he never had the opportunity to receive the education for which he might have wished, he was a 'born' educator himself, always gently but firmly encouraging his son and daughters to be interested in and to learn about anything and everything that the world had to offer.
He will best be remembered by both family and friends for always upholding and teaching tolerance and respect for all peoples – and his sharp wit / love for wordplay, quirky sense of humour, youthful outlook and genuine warmth – all for which we are grateful that he was able to maintain until almost his final day (oh yes, AND his giant sweet-tooth).
A non-denominational funeral service for Henry was held in Prescott on Saturday December 29th, 2007, officiated by his good friend Reverend Bob Hill of Carleton Place, Ontario. Bob was born and raised in Northern Ireland and is a long-time friend of our mother's family. Once in Canada, he worked with our dad at RCA Victor, before becoming a 'man of the cloth'!
Dad’s own burial with family present was extremely important to him, since he was never given the opportunity to witness a proper burial of his own family due to the holocaust. As a mere teenager, he was left on his own to find some sort of closure for the loss of his parents and younger brother.
On Saturday May 31, 2008, we said a final loving "Goodbye" to our dear Henry, with family and a few close friends of his in attendance - some being almost lifelong friends who were unable to attend the funeral due to being far away during the holiday season. He was buried beside his loving wife and our beloved mother Pat in Sandy Hill Cemetery, Prescott, Ontario.
WHAT WAS THE KINDERTRANSPORT?
Kindertransport (also Refugee Children Movement) is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of World War II. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, and the occupied territories of Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the Free City of Danzig. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, and farms.
The rescue operation is, in general, considered a success as most of the Kinder survived the war. A small percentage were reunited with parents who had either spent the war in hiding or survived the Nazi camps. The majority of children, however, lost home and family forever. The end of the war brought confirmation of the worst: their parents were dead. In the years since the Kinder had left the European mainland, the Nazis and their collaborators had killed nearly six million European Jews, including nearly 1.5 million children.
Learn more at "The Kindertransport Association (KTA)" website:
www.kindertransport.org
and the "Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR): Kindertransport"
official website of the British Kinder:
www.ajr.org.uk/kindertransport
WHO IS SIR NICHOLAS WINTON?
In 1939, independently of Operation Kindertransport, a 29-year-old London stockbroker named Nicholas Winton set up his own rescue operation - and personally saved the lives of 669 children. Most of them were Jewish — from Czechoslovakia, which was soon to be occupied by the Nazis.
OUR DAD WAS ONE OF THESE FORTUNATE CHILDREN. We do not know how we could possibly repay him for his kindness.
He brought them to Britain and kept it a secret for nearly 50 years. In 2002 Queen Elizabeth II conferred knighthood on Winton.
Winton, now 99 years old, is an immensely compelling symbol of how a caring person can truly make a difference. He still wears a ring given to him by some of the children he saved. It is inscribed with a line from the Talmud, the book of Jewish law. It reads:
"Save one life, save the world."
Please visit
www.powerofgood.net
for the complete story of how Sir Nicholas saved these children.
WHAT WAS THE TEREZIN CAMP (also known as "Theresienstadt")?
During WWII, the Gestapo used TerezÃn, better known by the German name Theresienstadt, as a concentration camp. The majority of the Jews sent were scholars, professionals, artists and musicians. Inmates were encouraged to lead creative lives, and concerts were even held. Within the camp, parks, grassy areas and flower beds, concert venues and statues were installed to hide the truth; that most of the inmates were going to be killed. This was all part of a Nazi plot to deceive International Red Cross inspectors into believing that Jews were being treated humanely. This façade masked the fact that of the 144,000 Jews were sent there, about 33,000 died, mostly because of the appalling conditions (hunger, stress, disease, and an epidemic of typhus at the very end of the war)[citation needed]. About 88,000 were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination camps[citation needed]. At the end of the war there were 17,247 survivors[citation needed].
Part of the fortification (Small Fortress) served as the largest Gestapo prison in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, separated from the ghetto. Around 90,000 people went through it, and 2,600 of those died there.
This was the camp where my grandmother died - Allegedly of tuberculosis. She was only in her forties, like me (daughter B)...
It was liberated on May 9th, 1945 by the Soviet Army.
Learn more from "The Official Terezin Memorial" website:
www.pruvodce.com/terezin/index_en.php3
