and the prettiest things were made for me. She would wrap my hair around thick wooden rollers to give me curls in the style of Shirley Temple. It was no coincidence that Shirley Temple was the person I most wanted to be. I was forever playing at being an actress, wandering off into a fantasy world whenever I wanted. During those tension-filled times, my world of make-believe was a warm refuge that my mother encouraged. This ability to let my imagination carry me away served me well throughout my childhood, especially later when I was separated from my family.
My father was a thin man, outwardly cheerful and optimistic, but he had a streak of stubbornness that probably had a lot to do with his having been an orphan as a child. Although old photographs show that he was taller than my mother, I remember it the other way around. Of course my recollection of his height might have been affected by my uncle, Werner Lewy, who, at six feet three inches, towered over everyone—especially his Wife, Margot, who was barely five feet tall.
My father was a salesman by trade, and despite his poor grasp of French, he soon managed to find work with a food company. At a time when food was scarce, this was an enviable position. Sometimes he would come home with a treat for me. I can recall watching for him late in the afternoon, with my face pressed to the window, wondering what he would have for me that night.
Despite their efforts to protect me, it was hard in that small apartment for my parents to keep me from sensing how difficult things were. They argued frequently, mostly out of frustration from trying to procure the necessary papers to arrange our departure from Belgium. life was totally taken up with talk of getting visas.
In 1939, this was no easy task. The immigration laws were constantly changing. The United States was reluctant to accept immigrants in general and Jewish immigrants in particular. To secure a visa, an applicant had to have an affidavit from an American citizen certifying that he or she was willing to accept financial responsibility for the immigrant being sponsored.
The Hurwitzes (Walter and Frieda) did not plan on going to the United States. Walter liked Europe and wished to remain in Belgium unless forced to leave. But for the Lewys and Westheimers, there was no hesitation. They clung to the hope of a new start in America.
The Lewys were counting on the sponsorship of an American cousin of Werner’s who was an attorney in Chicago. My parents hoped to secure an affidavit from some relatives of my father’s who had an insurance business in Texas. Although the Tausks (Walter and Hella) were already in New York, they were not yet U.S. citizens and were only permitted to sponsor my grandmother.
Amid the frustration of trying to make these complicated arrangements, the three families managed to get away for a few days at the seashore during the summer of 1939. I recall the beach at Blankenberge being damp and chilly, but looking at photographs taken on the boardwalk gives me a warm feeling about the last time we all gathered together as a family. I recall playing in the sand with my cousins and watching Uncle Werner and Aunt Margot dancing arm in arm on the beach. But my most vivid memory is of strolling along the boardwalk with my parents on either side of me, holding their hands, basking in the warmth and safety that a small child feels when loved and provided for. The world at that moment was a happy place.
In the fall, my parents enrolled me in a public school a few blocks from our apartment. I felt anxious at first, worried that the other children would find out I was German or Jewish. But I had already become fluent in French, so I was able to keep that hidden. And I knew I wouldn’t be staying at the school long, because we would soon be leaving for America. I enjoyed meeting other children my age and made friends quickly, I also enjoyed doing schoolwork. I did well on my weekly report card, which pleased my parents. Making them proud of me was the most important thing in my life.
By late in 1939, my parents and the Lewys had finally managed to collect all the necessary papers to secure our visas. While I went off to school clutching my books, my father and Werner left for the immigration office, carrying the precious papers that would enable their families to start a new life in America. Upon arriving there, they were separated and assigned to different lines. Werner’s papers were found to be in order and his application was approved. My father’s request was denied due to a misspelling of his name in the affidavit sent by his relatives.
It is easy to imagine how, in the confusion of a government office run by officious bureaucrats, two otherwise confident young men would feel powerless to assert themselves. Their lack of fluency in the language no doubt posed a huge obstacle to communication, but the contempt that many Belgians felt toward Germans most certainly played a role as well. For Werner Lewy, being unable to summon the nerve to intervene on my father’s behalf came to be the most profound regret in his life. It was a regret that he carried to his grave. On countless occasions in later years, he was given to saying, “If only I had known then what I know now ...”
But it is unlikely that his protest would have accomplished anything. Trying to reason with the clerks who controlled their destiny would have been as difficult as coming to terms with the cruel quirk of fate by which a single typographical error could spell the difference between life and death. It’s a quirk of fate that I may never fully come to terms with and one that I definitely did not understand that day when I got home from school. I only knew that the Lewys were going to America and we were not.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
STATE OF ILLINOIS)
COUNTY OF COOK)
CITY OF CHICAGO)
LEE COHN, being first on oath duly sworn, deposes and says that he is an American Citizen by birth; that he was born in the City of Beloit, Rock County and State of Wisconsin; that he is 56 years of age and has continuously resided in the United States of America since his birth. That his present residence is No.1 7217 Ridgeland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. That he has resided in the State of Illinois for the past 36 years continuously and at the above address for the past 14 years; that he is the head of a family consisting of himself, his wife and two minor children, and resides with the same.
This affiant further states that he is a lawyer by profession, having been admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois in the year 1907 by the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois; that he maintains offices for the practice of law at N. 139 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois.
That this affiant and his wife Miriam R. Cohn are the owners of real estate in the City of Chicago of the value of about $35000.00; that the income from the property is about $4500.00 per annum; that the net income from his business amounts to about $4000.00 per annum; that he carries life insurance in the sum of $6000.00.
That WERNER LEWY, MARGOT LEWY, his wife, and BERNT WOLFGANG LEWY, age 7 years, his son, who are cousins to this affiant on the paternal side, and now resident at No. 99 Chusee de Warve [sic], Brussels, Belgium, desire to come to the home of this affiant at Chicago, Illinois. That this affiant is ready, willing, and able to receive him and his said family and care for them for a period of six months after his arrival and for such a length of time as he and his family may remain, and this affiant guarantees that said Werner Lewy nor his family will become a charge about the Country or the State of Illinois or any subdivision thereof, or until such time as they may be self supporting.
That this affiant is a law abiding citizen of the United States of America and the State of Illinois and bears a good reputation in the community in which he resides; that neither this affiant, nor any member of his family have ever been subject to any criminal or legal prosecution; That for many years this affiant was attorney for the War Veterans Committee of the Chicago Bar Association, and as such had charge of the administering of estates of incompetent, disabled and deceased veterans of the late World Wars, and would respectfully refer you to the Chicago Bar Association, 29 S. LaSalle Street, Chicago,. Illinois; also to the Honorable Henry Homer, Governor of the State of Illinois, who prior to his election as Governor sat for many years as Judge of the Probate Court of Cook County, Illinois; also the Honorable Ulysses S. Schwartz, Judge of the Superior Court, Cook County, Illinois.
This affidavit is made for the purpose of assisting WERNER LEWY, his wife MARGOT LEWY and minor son BERNT WOLFGANG LEWY to come to the home of this affiant at Chicago, Cook County, illinois, United States of America.
/s/ Lee Cohn