Photo By Sgt. Arjenis Nunez | Veronica “Vera” Hoffman, guest speaker and Savannah’s last Holocaust survivor...... read more read more
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FORT STEWART, Ga -- Veronica “Vera” Hoffman is Savannah’s last Holocaust survivor. On April 24, 2017 at the Holocaust Remembrance observance at Club Stewart on Fort Stewart, Hoffman told 3rd Division Soldiers, Family and friends her survival story.
Her road to freedom was paved with pain and desire for life. Hoffman survived the invasion with a pillow in one hand and her father’s hand in the other. Her mother’s goal was to do everything possible to keep her family together, said Hoffman.
The Nazi army invaded Ms. Hoffman’s hometown of Szeged, Hungary. She and her Family were imprisoned in one of many ghettos. The conditions for prisoners were life threatening, said Hoffman.
“We didn’t live day by day. We lived hour by hour,” said Hoffman.
She was forced to work 14-hour shifts at the labor camp. Hoffman’s only purpose was to make metal clamps used to seal things like jars and soda bottles. No child in the labor camp could stop working. Sick or dying, no excuse was acceptable. If a child stopped working, they would be beaten, said Hoffman.
Hoffman believes her parents are the reason she survived. She managed to stay healthy enough to work the long hours because her mother would give Vera her food rations in secret. If her mother were caught, she would have been killed, said Hoffman.
Hoffman and her family endured the vicious treatment until the Soviet army liberated the Jewish people where she and her family were imprisoned. Her father paid a Soviet Soldier two diamonds from the stash her father sewed into the inside of her pillow, to be taken quickly back to her home town.
Once freed, Hoffman went back to school. Education was important to Hoffman, but most Jewish schools were burned or destroyed, said Hoffman.
“I was not scared to go back to school,” said Hoffman.
Her father enrolled her into a Parochial school. The main religion of the school was Catholicism, but regardless of her being Jewish, the school opened their doors. Many Parochial schools opened their doors to Jewish children who had nowhere to receive an education.
“I got to understand the people that follow Catholicism and the religion itself,” said Hoffman.
She was pulled out of the Parochial school after two years. Ms. Hoffman prides herself as someone who questions everything and this led to being removed from the school.
“I questioned some things the teachers would say during bible studies in school,” said Hoffman. “I even questioned our community’s Rabbi.”
Hoffman’s inquisitive nature helped her learn multiple languages. When she came to America in 1956, she and her family were placed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, a Hungarian refugee camp. This was the first encounter she had with American Soldiers.
She already spoke Hungarian, German, Russian, Italian and English. Knowing English helped her and her family endure their time at Camp Kilmer. Hoffman served as an interpreter for her family and others at the camp.
Once free of the refugee camp, she was able to explore her possibilities as a naturalized citizen of the United States. At the age of 21, having already earned a Master’s degree in analytical chemistry, Hoffman secured a job at a Cleveland, Ohio clinic.
“Knowing the language and having my degree made it easy to get this job,” said Hoffman.
Today her message to Soldiers is: remember what you stand for, and continue helping those in need without judgment.
“My daughter taught me something important that I have carried through today, do not generalize people and give them a chance,” Hoffman continued
Hoffman’s message spoke to Sgt. Edwin L. Perez Perez, an Army paralegal specialist for 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and reminded him why he enlisted.
“I enlisted to do my part to never let something like the Holocaust happen again,” said Perez.
Ms. Hoffman’s message of having the fortitude to withstand oppression is in line with Army values, said Perez. He recognizes that it takes personal courage to be a Soldier who fights the immoral actions of an enemy.
“It was an honor to be [at Club Stewart] and listen to her story,” said Perez. “It is brave of her to relive those experiences and share them with the Soldiers here.”
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2017 10:03 |
| Story ID: | 232390 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 352 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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