Finding Edith: Surviving the Holocaust in Plain Sight

by Edith Mayer Cord

Overview

Finding Edith: Surviving the Holocaust in Plain Sight is the coming-of-age story of a young Jewish girl chased in Europe during World War II. Like a great adventure story, the book describes the childhood and adolescence of a Viennese girl growing up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the rise of Nazism, World War II, and the religious persecution of Jews throughout Europe. Edith was hunted in Western Europe and Vichy France, where she was hidden in plain sight, constantly afraid of discovery and denunciation. Forced to keep every thought to herself, Edith developed an intense inner life. After spending years running and eventually hiding alone, she was smuggled into Switzerland. Deprived of schooling, Edith worked at various jobs until the end of the war when she was able to rejoin her mother, who had managed to survive in France.

After the war, the truth about the death camps and the mass murder on an industrial scale became fully known. Edith faced the trauma of Germany’s depravity, the murder of her father and older brother in Auschwitz, her mother’s irrational behavior, and the extreme poverty of the postwar years. She had to make a living but also desperately wanted to catch up on her education. What followed were seven years of struggle, intense study, and hard work until finally, against considerable odds, Edith earned the Baccalauréat in 1949 and the Licence ès Lettres from the University of Toulouse in 1952 before coming to the United States. In America, Edith started at the bottom like all immigrants and eventually became a professor and later a financial advisor and broker. Since her retirement, Edith dedicates her time to publicly speaking about her experiences and the lessons from her life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557538086
Publisher:	Purdue University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2019
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1928, Edith Mayer Cord fled from country to country because of religious persecution. Separated from her family, Cord managed to survive the Holocaust in hiding. After the war, she focused on catching up on her education before coming to the United States. Cord worked as a college professor of French and German before becoming a securities broker, financial adviser, and certified financial planner. She is married, with three children and seven grandchildren. She currently lives in Columbia, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Beginnings

1 Vienna, Austria: My Childhood and Early Memories 1

2 Genoa, Italy: The Happiest Year of My Life 31

3 Nice, France: We Are Refugees 42

4 Montlaur, France: From School to the Vineyards 68

In Hiding in France

5 Castelnaudary: The Convent School 113

6 Moissac: In the Hospital 118

7 Mende: The English Teacher 122

8 Florac: Christmas Vacation 127

9 Pezenas: The Outsider 136

10 Cahors: Vocational High School and Centre de Jeunes Filles Déficientes 140

11 Flight To Switzerland 148

Switzerland

12 Claparède: The Transit Camp 155

13 Geneva: Champel, Le Val Fleuri, Le Centre Henri Dunant 164

14 Chésières-Villars: Alpina 171

15 Ulisbach and Speicher: The Nanny 177

Introduction to the Postwar Years 187

Toulouse, France

16 A Year of Floundering 189

17 School at Last 199

18 The Second Baccalauréat 215

19 Faculté de Lettres 223

America

20 America: The Immigrant 241

21 Reflections 274

Life is Sacred 280

Musings on Old Age and Transitions 281

About the Author 282

Editorial Reviews

"Finding Edith is a painful book to read—and it should be. In great detail and with unequaled precision, Edith Mayer Cord describes her experience hiding in German-occupied and German-Allied so-called Vichy France as a young girl, and her unrelenting efforts to both get an education and avoid capture. One marvels at her discipline and the courage born of necessity. One also is horrified by the many who exploited her dire situation and impressed by the few who came to her aid. She is brutally honest about her relationship with her difficult mother, who was shattered by the loss of her husband and her son, and by her conditions of dire poverty. One cannot fail to be impressed by the journey that Edith traveled to find herself and create a productive life after so much suffering. I know of few books as candid in explaining the price that was paid for survival." —Michael Berenbaum, Professor of Jewish Studies, Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: American Jewish University

"Through the interweaving story—the odyssey—of the author’s and her family’s personal experiences, readers learn about the events, the ascent of anti-Semitism that culminated in the death camps, the mass killings of what was termed the Final Solution. There is also mention of some little-known historical information, such as that Italian fascists laid claim to what is now Ethiopia; that Hitler admired Genghis Khan; and the events of the Evian Conference and the Wannsee Conference. Readers learn of the resourcefulness of the author’s parents in the face of life-threatening situations, as well as the lessons learned through the experiences of a child and young person during the Holocaust. These lessons Edith Cord carried into her remarkable adult life—survival of painful events and personal losses; assimilation is not enough to grant you safety; resourcefulness and adaptability are the most valuable tools; acquire skills be to able to support yourself; be active on behalf of civil rights and democracy. It is indeed an odyssey of personal growth." —Stefanie Seltzer, President: World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants

"Edith Cord’s masterfully crafted portrayal of surviving the Nazis through flight and hiding, as well as the rich and fulfilling life she created in the decades after, serves as an extraordinary example of an individual’s will to overcome. In a broader sense, Finding Edith also depicts the arc of the refugee experience during the Holocaust and presents a case study of the immense difficulties and trials of hiding under such circumstances. Cord’s honest rendering shares a deeply human story, illuminating human flaws and human strengths, and sheds light on the particular texture of the female experience." —Elizabeth Anthony, Historian: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

"What most impressed me in this book was the day-to¬day detail we learn as Edith, her mother, father, and older brother work to survive in Austria, Italy, and France while they stay one step ahead of the Nazis— until they don't. Edith has lived her life and written this book with grace and courage. I think you'll enjoy meeting her in these pages. I highly recommend this interesting and illuminating memoir. " —Mensa Bulletin

From the Publisher

Through the interweaving story—the odyssey—of the author’s and her family’s personal experiences, readers learn about the events, the ascent of anti-Semitism that culminated in the death camps, the mass killings of what was termed the Final Solution. There is also mention of some little-known historical information, such as that Italian fascists laid claim to what is now Ethiopia; that Hitler admired Genghis Khan; and the events of the Evian Conference and the Wannsee Conference. Readers learn of the resourcefulness of the author’s parents in the face of life-threatening situations, as well as the lessons learned through the experiences of a child and young person during the Holocaust. These lessons Edith Cord carried into her remarkable adult life—survival of painful events and personal losses; assimilation is not enough to grant you safety;
resourcefulness and adaptability are the most valuable tools; acquire skills be to able to support yourself; be active on behalf of civil rights and democracy. It is indeed an odyssey of personal growth.”

Stefanie Seltzer

“Finding Edith is a painful book to read—and it should be. In great detail and with unequaled precision, Edith Mayer Cord describes her experience hiding in German-occupied and German-Allied so-called
Vichy France as a young girl, and her unrelenting efforts to both get an education and avoid capture. One marvels at her discipline and the courage born of necessity. One also is horrified by the many who exploited her dire situation and impressed by the few who came to her aid. She is brutally honest about her relationship with her difficult mother, who was shattered by the loss of her husband and her son, and by her conditions of dire poverty. One cannot fail to be impressed by the journey that Edith traveled to find herself and create a productive life after so much suffering. I know of few books as candid in explaining the price that was paid for survival.”

Michael Berenbaum

Edith Cord’s masterfully crafted portrayal of surviving the Nazis through flight and hiding,
as well as the rich and fulfilling life she created in the decades after,
serves as an extraordinary example of an individual’s will to overcome. In a broader sense, Finding Edith also depicts the arc of the refugee experience during the Holocaust and presents a case study of the immense difficulties and trials of hiding under such circumstances. Cord’s honest rendering shares a deeply human story, illuminating human flaws and human strengths, and sheds light on the particular texture of the female experience.”

Elizabeth Anthony