Gerda Einstein
Gerda Einstein was a nanny who lived with the Frank family for several months in 1936.
Person
Gerda Einstein was registered on 18 February 1936 by the Aliens Department of the Amsterdam police. In addition to her work as a domestic help to the Frank family she was nanny to Bruno Asch's family on Stadionweg in Amsterdam.[1]
Early in 1937 she was nanny to the Elias family, where their son Peter Robert was born on 29 March. She then lived with them on Deltastraat and emigrated with them to the United States. On 9 February 1938 she left Southampton with mother and son Elias on board the Aquitania. The ship arrived in New York six days later.[2]
Gerda wrote to Albert Einstein on 8 February 1939. Her father Ernst Einstein had been arrested during the pogroms of 11 November 1938. On his release, he had been told to leave Germany. Gerda pointed out to Albert Einstein that they had a common name and that they were both from Ulm. She and several friends had already provided affidavits, but since the support of a distinguished scholar carried weight, she asked Albert Einstein to make such a declaration as well.[3]
In Pittsburgh, Gerda met Herbert Höxter, who had also spent a few months in a camp before escaping to the US. They married and went to live in New Hampshire in 1945.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Gemeentepolitie, inv. nr. 3919: Vreemdelingenkaart G. Einstein.
- ^ Aquitania passengers list, 9 – 15 February 1938.
- ^ Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Albert Einstein Archive, signatuur 52-854: Gerda Einstein aan prof. Albert Einstein, 8 februari 1939.
- ^ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Herbert Hoexter, a German-Jewish refugee, stands on the grounds of the Kitchener refugee camp.