From 1939 to 1945, Hitler’s Nazi Germany systematically exterminated six million Jews. Every Jew all over the world was affected by this great persecution, especially the nine million Jews who lived in Europe during that time. This horrific period of time is commonly referred to as The Holocaust, which in Greek means sacrifice by fire. It is also known as “Ha’Shoah” which is Hebrew for “the catastrophe” (http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm). Even though the Nazis used the term “Final Solution” in reference to their evil plans to wipe out all the Jewish people, this was not God’s final solution for one German Jewish child. This is the account of Sagemont member, Harry Waldheim (83) (pronounced Vald-hi-m) and his eight decade journey to ultimate salvation.
Born Hans Waldheim on May 9, 1931, “Hans” was the oldest son in a practicing Jewish family in pre-World War II Germany. He shared, “The thing I remember the most about living in the little town of Hemer (pronounced Hay-Mer) was that directly behind our home was the biggest prisoner of war camp in Germany! The Nazis imprisoned thousands of men at Stalag VI-A! As kids, my younger brother, Manfred, and I used to walk up to the fence to see the military prisoners who were Polish, French, Belgian, Dutch and English.” He reported that Stalag VI-A was originally supposed to be an Air Force base for the German military, but it was never completed. From October 1939 to the end of the war in the spring of 1945, around 200,000 Allied POWs resided in those unfinished barracks. It is estimated about 10% of those POWs were buried in the “dying camp” because of poor conditions and hard labor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemer).
In 1938, after getting thrown out of primary school for being Jewish, seven year old “Hans” was sent to a Jewish boarding school 50 miles away in Cologne, Germany. The school had recently been converted from a Jewish orphanage. He recalled, “This was about the time problems really started for Jews in Germany. I learned some English at that school because they knew that eventually some of us would get out of Germany and go to either the United States or to England. I attended that boarding school for two years.”
Next door to the Waldheim family home was his father’s manufacturing business. Harry recalled, “My father manufactured fixtures that you see in stores which display dresses or stockings. Then in 1938 my father was arrested and sent to Buchenwald from November 11 to December 7 because he was a Jewish business owner.” Harry pointed out a copy of the actual letter to the police which reported the Bill of Sale for the manufacturing business that his father signed on December 3, 1938 while in Buchenwald. Harry translated the letter from German, “It says that Ernst Waldheim sold it to somebody, but the name is blacked out and you notice that there is no amount for the sale. It was really taken from him!“ When Ernst was finally released, he came home to Hemer and hid for a week. Harry shared that someone from the underground came and sneaked his father into Holland where he stayed the entire year of 1939 and part of 1940. He added, “That was before the Germans were in Holland. I was a seven year old child when he left, but I knew what was happening. It was very upsetting.”
In the summer of 1941, “Hans” (9), Manfred (7) and their mother, Ilse (37) (pronounced IL-sa), took a train from Germany to the neutral country of Portugal. After waiting two weeks at the port of Lisbon, they boarded the famous Portuguese ship, the Serpa Pinto, which was bound for the United States of America. It is interesting to note that during WWII the Serpa Pinto made 20 voyages from Lisbon, Portugal to both North and South America. Because it was one of the few ships making transatlantic voyages in this period, many of the refugees from Nazi Europe, like Harry’s family, in this period traveled on this very ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpa_Pinto_(ship). Harry recalled the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, “During the two week boat ride, we almost got attacked by a German submarine and sunk even though it was a Portuguese ship that should have been considered neutral in the war! We didn’t know the ship was under attack until later.”
As the Serpa Pinto pulled into the New York harbor, Harry remembered seeing his very excited father waiting to greet them at the gangplank! Ernst had boarded a Dutch ship, the SS Westerdam, the very day the Germans marched into Holland May 10, 1940. He had been in the U.S a year before his family was able to join him. During that time Ernst arranged visas for his wife and two sons whom he had not seen in two years!
After arriving, “Hans” chose a more American name to begin his new life. He laughed as he shared, “I was going to pick the name, Henry, but my friend who came over with us chose it first. Henry Kamm became the famous correspondent for the NY times, so I had to pick something else. I told my parents, ‘I will take Harry’. They were going to name me Harvey and I didn’t like that!”
By the time WWII ended in 1945, the Waldheim family, was safely living on the banks of the Hudson River in Manhattan in a German Jewish community as new English-speaking US citizens. That’s when they received the news of his maternal grandparents’ death. Harry said, “Not long after we left, the Nazis gathered up the remaining Jews in Hemer, which were all older people. They put them in concentration camps. One report says my grandparents were in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp when they died and another report says they were shot in Russia! They couldn’t leave with us because it was a matter of visas.”
By July 1942 there were no Jews accounted for in Hemer. As far as Harry knows, none of his extended family ever returned to their ancestral home. In 1997, the town of Hemer erected a memorial in remembrance of the remaining Jews that were murdered by the Nazis. His grandparents’ names are listed on that monument: Albert and Julie Steuer (pronounced Stoy-yer).
When Harry turned 17 years old, he took home his enlistment papers for his parents to sign. He did his “patriotic duty” serving in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 1953. He pointed out one serious seaman of the hundreds who covered the large battleship on the black and white photo hanging on his wall. He said, “That was me on the USS New Jersey. I was on that battleship for two years and a couple of years on destroyers. I was in active duty during the Korean War. Being in the Navy was a good experience for me, it made a man out of me.”
When Harry (23) left the Navy in 1953, he attended school through the GI Bill and worked at various jobs before becoming an engineer for Grumman Aerospace in 1959 based out of New York and Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was assigned to projects for the Apollo Program for the next 10 years. One impressive accomplishment while Harry was at Grumman was his team’s creation of one of 14 lunar modules for NASA to be used on their planned ten missions to the moon. Harry stood facing a framed photo of the Lunar Module dated March 24, 1969 which is surrounded by many signatures of those on his team. He said, “I was the Industrial Engineering Planner for the actual Lunar Module-6 that went on Apollo 12 mission which was on NASA’s 2nd successful moon landing mission in November 1969! This framed picture was given to me by the President of the company because the team I led exceeded our schedule.”
A year after getting out of the Navy, Harry (24) returned to New York and married Irma in October 5, 1954. Harry showed a picture of him and Irma, smiling as a newly engaged couple. He shared, “She was from Brooklyn, New York. She was a Jew, but she was not German. We had four kids, first twin daughters and then the two sons followed.”
In 1969, Harry (38) moved his family from New York back to Las Cruces where he went to work on nuclear war heads and atomic bombs for New Mexico State University at the White Sands Missile Range. During their eight years in New Mexico, Harry and Irma joined a small Jewish synagogue. He said, “I was even president at the synagogue for a couple of years! It was very much a part of my life until the late 80’s when my wife and I turned away from religion. Irma got sick with all kinds of illnesses.”
The Waldheims moved to Houston in 1977 so Harry could work in the chemical industry. In 1983 Harry owned an air conditioning shop, HHS Service Company in League City. Harry gave his A/C business to his oldest son, Alan, and retired at the age of 65 in 1996.
Harry’s and Irma’s daughter, Susan, passed away in February 2009 at the age of 52. Then, not long after their 55th wedding anniversary, Irma died of congestive heart failure in November 2009. Harry said quietly, “That was a rough year.”
Harry moved to the newly constructed Villas at El Dorado in Webster in October 2011. That’s where Harry met Sagemont member, Marilyn Steelman. He smiled as he recalled their first date, “On August 20, 2013, we were exercising together at the Friendswood Senior Center. Marilyn said to me, ‘What do you know about televisions?’. I said, ‘Everything!’ Marilyn said, ‘Will you go with me and check my TV? It’s broke.’ I said, ‘Sure! If you need one we will go get one…after lunch!’. I took her to the Olive Garden. Then out of the clear blue sky she told me she was going to Sagemont Church. I just said, ‘I’d like to go to church with you!’ I had never been to a Protestant religious service my entire life, but I have been here ever since.“
By September, Harry was faithfully attending 9:30 am worship services at Sagemont as well as Teaching Pastor, Stuart Rothberg’s 11:15 am iCONNECT class Truth Seekers with Marilyn each Sunday. He said, “I set up an appointment with Stuart. We talked. He told me his Jewish background and I told him my feelings and everything else. Stuart gave me some books to read. I really studied up on Jesus Christ, what He was, the way He died and everything else.” Harry said seriously, “I have always had the feeling, even as a kid, that somehow, some of us Jews missed the boat in not believing in Jesus.”
Harry smiled as he continued, “Then on Dec 7, 2013 I told Stuart, ‘I want to profess my belief in Jesus Christ!’” Harry laughed, “Stuart was so excited…before I even had told Marilyn, he announced it to the entire class! At the time I told Stuart, ‘I believe but I don’t think I want to be baptized.’ Then three weeks later I said to Stuart, “I think I want to be baptized, no, I definitely want to be baptized!” Harry was baptized by Stuart on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 during the midweek evening service surrounded by his iCONNECT class members and his children and grandchildren.
Harry (82) and Marilyn (79) were married by Brother Stuart on March 22, 2014 in the Great Room surrounded by both of their families. He smiled as he shared, “Marilyn believes that God put us together because of the fact that we met when we did and that I wanted to go to Sagemont Church. You see, I am just an old man who is happily retired. I have a wonderful woman to keep me company…to be my companion. I’ve gotten religion and I’m reading my Bible daily! That’s it…considering where I have come from in my life…I have done a 180 degree turnaround. That is huge!”
This interview was done on April 9, 2014. In the early morning hours of April 14, Marilyn passed away from complications of a recent surgery. Just three weeks after presiding over their wedding, Brother Stuart spoke at Marilyn’s memorial service beneath Sagemont’s 170-foot cross on April 17. Harry and Marilyn’s family and friends were given comfort in the fact that though great sadness came from her death, they have hope in the fact that Marilyn is now in Heaven. Though Harry lost his companion…he is not alone. As a new Christian, he now has Jesus Christ to turn to as well as a new church family. Harry shared, “I love Sagemont and I am not going anywhere. I am so glad that Marilyn brought me here and introduced me to the iCONNECT class and Brother Stuart. He and I have become good friends.”
Even though their time together was short, Marilyn’s impact on Harry’s life was eternal. She embodied Sagemont’s mission statement: “Living Proof of a Loving God to a Watching World”. Some parts of Harry’s life causes him great sadness to recall, but when he speaks of Marilyn, Brother Stuart and all his new friends at Sagemont Church, Harry’s face lights up. No longer just a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, thanks to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice 2,000 years ago, Harry is now a survivor of the eternal “catastrophe”!