THE WAY IT WAS
not so long ago in a country not so far away
By Hilde Wohl Adler
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book is about my life in Germany between the ages of zero and ten, 1928 to 1938. I wrote it to remember and honor my parents and those who came before them, to remember the way of life they created through the generations. I also wanted my young American extended family as well as my friends to understand what we left behind. I realize all too well that our story cannot compare, in horror or tragedy, to that of the millions of European Jews who were murdered outright and who were starved, tortured, and murdered in the camps. But something important was lost even for us. I felt this should be acknowledged.
With the recent rise of anti-semitism worldwide, I think my story has new relevance, and I feel that I now have an obligation to “witness” while I still can. This story is true. I was there and I remember it. Everything I have described really happened. History often repeats itself. Let us be vigilant.
Hilde Adler, 2019
Photograph by Tracy Harris
About the Author
I was born in Nürnberg, the very heart of the Nazi movement. The roots of my Jewish family tree go back to 16th-century Germany. Life for my family and for all of Germany’s Jews became increasingly more difficult and dangerous as Hitler gained power through the 1930s, culminating in "Kristallnacht" (the night of broken glass) in November 1938. In February 1939, we managed to leave Germany, going first to Switzerland, then England, and finally, in February 1940, arriving in New York. I did the rest of my growing up in New York City and moved to Madison, Wisconsin when I married Julius, a professor of biochemistry and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.