The Adamson's farming
market had ground to a sudden halt. That was one of the reasons Samuel Adamson
decided to leave his beloved farm in the trustworthy hands of a friend and move
his small family to Germany. He
had just enough money to pay for the long boat trip and set up some sort of
business. His mother was a German Jew living in Waldenberg and even though many
spoke of Hitler with a new sense of excitement, as every day past, he felt very
uneasy about the policies of the Nazi party, especially with his mother being a
Jew.
After the death of Samuel’s
father, his mother carried on the family clothing store and over the years she
had built up a number of regular customers. Until recently she was doing
reasonably well, even without her husband's help. But the Nazis had posted billboards
all over the country saying, "German people, defend yourselves! Do not buy
from Jews!" They had publicly burned books that were "Un‑German," and he had also read
that the school curriculum was being revised to teach "race science."
Wilhelm Frick, the Nazi Interior Minister stated, "The schools must
constantly emphasize that the infiltration of the German people with alien
blood, especially Jewish and Negro, must be prevented."
The small Adamson family
consisting of Samuel, his wife Esther, son Jerry and daughter Lilian, left New
York on a cold day in January of 1934. Lilian was two years older than Jerry
and had been named after the popular actress Lilian Gish. When her parents were
first married they saw the star in Victor Seastrom's MGM film, "The
Wind," and she left such an impression on them they decided to name their
first girl after her.
Jerry was named
"Jeremiah," after the biblical prophet; at the insistence of his
Jewish grandmother. He hated the name and was pleased that his friends called
him Jerry. But as he grew older he came to prefer the seasoned sound of
"Jeremiah." However, even though he always introduced himself as
such, people insisted on reverting to "Jerry."
After a long trip across
the Atlantic on the French liner Normandie,
the family arrived on the shores of France, then traveled by train to
Waldenberg in Germany.
There was a climate of fear
in the city. People hurried about and kept to themselves. Nazis were
everywhere, with their neatly fitting uniforms and their rigid manner, forever
checking documentation.
To be continued.
