Hildegard 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.

Edith Simon Babich (1922-2005) was born Edith Simon on July 1, 1922 in Cloppenburg, Germany to Karl Simon (1884-1943) and Selma Simon (née Katz, 1894-1943). Her father was a cattle merchant, and she had three sisters: Ruth Simon (later Ruth Heinemann, b. 1925), Hildegard "Hilde" Simon (later Hilde Gernsheimer, 1926-2019), and Ilse Simon (1928-1943). During Kristallnacht in November 1938 Karl and his cousin Julius Frank were arrested and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. They were released a month later. While they were still imprisoned, Edith’s sisters Ruth and Hildegard were sent on a Kindertransport to England. In May 1939 Karl, Selma, Edith, and Ilse booked passage to Havana, Cuba from Germany on the MS St. Louis. Cuba canceled the landing permits, and the ship was forced to return to Europe. Edith and her family disembarked in the Netherlands and went to Arnhem where Karl’s sister lived. Edith’s parents got her on a Kindertransport to Coventry, England in August 1939. She immigrated to the United States in November 1940, and eventually settled in Illinois in 1941. She met Reuben Babich (1923-2021), who was stationed with the United State Army in Illinois in 1944, and they married in 1945. Karl, Selma, and Ilse, were deported in May 1943 to Westerbork and Sobibor killing center, where they were murdered.

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 the Gernsheimer family

The Gernsheimer family donated the Hildegard Simon papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019.