Online presentation by Holocaust survivor Wolfgang Hellpap.
Wolfgang Helpap was born on June 25, 1931 in Berlin, Germany, the son of a Jewish father and a Christian mother. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 stripped Jews of their German citizenship and labeled Wolfgang a full-blooded Jew. On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany called Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass. Wolfgang watched as his father’s business was vandalized and burned along with other Jewish-owned business, synagogues and homes. The Jewish business owners were forced to repair and pay for all damage on their own.
In second grade Wolfgang’s name appeared on a list of Jewish children, he was forced to leave his school.
His father left Germany shortly after 1938 for Shanghai, which was the last time Wolfgang heard from his father. While his mother wanted to keep him, it became impossible and Wolfgang, at the age of 8, went into hiding.
After liberation HIAS found Wolfgang and together with 10 other Jewish children he went to Palestine. The state of Israel was formed in 1948, Wolfgang listened to the UN vote along with the entire country. Fighting from surrounding Arab countries began almost as the state of Israel was announced. Wolfgang immediately knew he wanted to fight for this new Jewish state and for the dream of safety and freedom it brought. He was part of the early Hagenah. Years and countless experiences later, Wolfgang was drafted into the U.S Army and was shipped back to Germany, this time as an American soldier!
+ More... - Less...* Registration closes on April 7th at 12:00 am
