Hilde and Ruth Simon papers

Hildegard Hanna “Hilde” Simon (later Hilde Gernsheimer, 1926-2019) was born on May 2, 1926 in Cloppenburg, Germany to Karl and Selma Simon. Karl (1884-1943) was a World War I veteran and worked as a horse and cattle trader. Selma (née Katz, 1894-1943) was born in Bad Arolson, Germany and was the eldest daughter of Jakob and Ida (née Schartenberg) Katz. They married in 1918 in Bad Arolson. Hilde had three sisters: Edith (later Edie Babich, 1922-2005), Ruth (later Ruth Heinemann, b. 1925), and Ilse (1928-1943). During Kristallnacht, Karl was arrested and sent to the Oranienburg concentration camp. In December 1938 Hilde and Ruth went on a Kindertransport out of Hamburg, Germany to England. They lived at a children’s hostel in Harrogate. The Mizrachi family in Jacksonville, Florida, friends of one of Hilde’s aunts, had agreed to sponsor them for immigration to the United States. While in Harrogate, Hilde trained to become a hairdresser and Ruth studied millinery. Karl was released from imprisonment around December 1938. Hilde and Ruth learned that their parents and sisters booked passage to Cuba on the MS St. Louis. After Cuba cancelled the landing permits, Hilde’s parents and sisters were sent to Antwerp, Netherlands where they had relatives. Edith was able to go to England on one of the last Kindertransports. Karl, Selma, and Ilse were then deported to the Westerbork concentration camp. Hilde and Ruth received letters from their parents until around May 1943 when they were deported to the Sobibor extermination camp and murdered. Hilde and Ruth immigrated to the United States in December 1944 aboard the SS Bayano, first arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They met their sister Edie in New York, who had previously immigrated to the United States and had settled in Forreston, Illinois. The sisters then all moved to New York. Hilde worked as a hairdresser and married Solly Gersheimer (d. 1987) in 1946. They had three children: Jack, Jeff, and Sharon.

Ruth Simon (later Ruth Heinemann, b. 1925) was born on February 25, 1925 in Cloppenburg, Germany to Karl and Selma Simon. Karl (1884-1943) was a World War I veteran and worked as a horse and cattle trader. Selma (née Katz, 1894-1943) was born in Bad Arolson, Germany and was the eldest daughter of Jakob and Ida (née Schartenberg) Katz. They married in 1918 in Bad Arolson. She had three sisters: Edith (later Edie Babich, 1922-2005), Hildegard (later Hilde Gernsheimer, 1926-2019), and Ilse (1928-1943). During Kristallnacht, Karl was arrested and sent to the Oranienburg concentration camp. In December 1938 Hilde and Ruth went on a Kindertransport out of Hamburg, Germany to England. They lived at a children’s hostel in Harrogate. The Mizrachi family in Jacksonville, Florida, friends of one of Ruth’s aunts, had agreed to sponsor them for immigration to the United States. While in Harrogate, Ruth studied millinery and Hilde trained to become a hairdresser. Karl was released from imprisonment around December 1938. Ruth and Hilde learned that their parents and sisters booked passage to Cuba on the MS St. Louis. After Cuba cancelled the landing permits, Ruth’s parents and sisters were sent to Antwerp, Netherlands where they had relatives. Edith was able to go to England on one of the last Kindertransports. Karl, Selma, and Ilse were then deported to the Westerbork concentration camp. Ruth and Hilde received letters from their parents until around May 1943 when they were deported to the Sobibor extermination camp and murdered. Ruth and Hilde immigrated to the United States in December 1944 aboard the SS Bayano, first arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They met their sister Edie in New York, who had previously immigrated to the United States and had settled in Forreston, Illinois. The sisters then all moved to New York. Ruth married Manfred Heinemann, who was also a refugee from Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1939.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Susan Berman and Julie Powsner

The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Susan Berman in 1998.