Judith Hemmendinger (née Feist, 2 October 1923 – 24 March 2024) was a German-born Israeli researcher and author who specialised in child survivors of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and refugee counselor for the Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE), a French Jewish children's aid organization based in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and from 1945 to 1947, she directed a home for child survivors of Buchenwald in France. She authored books and papers on the Holocaust experiences and later lives of child survivors. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2003.

Early life

Judith Feist was born on 2 October 1923, in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany, to Phillip Feist, a native of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

who worked as a mining engineer, and his wife Hannah, née Eisenmann. She was a great-granddaughter of Eliezer Liepman Philip Prins. Her family was Orthodox Jewish and well-off. She was the second of five children. When she was five years old, her father found employment in the Parisian suburb of Eaubonne and moved the family to France. As the only Jews in their locale, the Feist children attended public school, where they spoke French and learned secular subjects, while, at home, they spoke German and were tutored in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and the Bible. When her older sister began high school, Judith's family moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

World War II

The outbreak of

in September 1939 found the Feists on their annual summer vacation in

Megève Megève (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Co ...

, southern France. Phillip Feist was arrested as an enemy alien and deported to a detention camp in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. The rest of the family was assigned to a house in Megève. Upon Phillip's release in June 1940, the family traveled to Roanne in the French Free Zone. However, German officials advised Phillip to return to Paris, while his wife and children stayed in Roanne. Later, Phillip traveled to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionSchneour Zalman Schneersohn. He was arrested at the

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionGurs internment camp. He was afterwards deported to the

Drancy internment camp Drancy internment camp () was an assembly and detention camp for confining Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps during the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German occupation of France duri ...

and on to Auschwitz in September 1943, where he was murdered on the same day he arrived. In summer 1942, Judith began working at a youth hostel for hidden children operated by the Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE), a French Jewish children's aid organization based in

. On 1 January 1943, she traveled under the alias of Jacqueline Fournier to Taluyers, and joined a covert

hakhshara Hakhshara (; also transliterated Hachsharah, Hachshara or Hakhsharah) is a Hebrew word that literally means "preparation". The term is used for training programs and agricultural centres in Europe and elsewhere. At these centers Zionist youth movem ...

(Zionist agricultural training institute) operated by the Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs israélites de France under the guise of an agricultural school. The student body of 22 young Jewish men and women all carried false papers. She developed a relationship with one of the students, Claude Hemmendinger, but in September 1943, her mother called her to accompany her and her younger siblings on an escape to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, following her father's arrest. The family trekked over the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

with a guide, but was arrested after crossing the border and was detained in Geneva. After their release, they were sent to a refugee camp, where Judith worked as a teacher. She applied for a six-month course being offered by the OSE to train

s "to deal with the post-war situation", and was accepted. As part of her job, she interviewed child refugees traveling under false papers to find out their true identities, with the goal of re-uniting them with their families after the war. Buchenwald Children 26149

In May 1945, she responded to the OSE's call for volunteers to care for child survivors of the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

. She traveled to the Chateau d'Ambloy in

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

, France, where a home had been set up for 90 to 100 teenage boys from Orthodox homes who had requested kosher facilities and a higher level of religious observance than that being provided to the larger group of Buchenwald child survivors in France. Though only 22 years of age, Judith replaced the director, who found it difficult to relate to the youth. She stayed with the home on its move to the Chateau de Vaucelles in Taverny in October 1945, and remained as its director until September 1947, when the last child had found a permanent placement.Schmidt, Shira, and Mantaka, Bracha. "A Prince in a Castle". '' Ami'', 21 September 2014, pp. 136–143. Among the boys under her care were Yisrael Meir Lau, the future Chief Rabbi of Israel; his brother Naphtali Lau-Lavie; Menashe Klein, the future Ungvarer Rav; and Elie Wiesel. Explaining her success with the boys, who had displayed extreme trauma and anxieties upon their arrival in France, she said: "I loved them, I never judged them, I became attached to them, and I felt that it was reciprocal". After the home closed, Judith went to London to stay with her aunt and uncle. There, she received a letter from Claude Hemmendinger, her fellow student at the hakhshara, who wished to see her again. They met in Paris and were married in September 1948. At first, they settled on a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, but returned to Claude's mother's home in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

after the death of his father. They resided in Strasbourg for 20 years. They had two sons and one daughter.

Education and research

In Strasbourg, Judith Hemmendinger began seeing a psychotherapist to work through her wartime experiences. Upon the family's return to Israel in 1969, she undertook a formal education, earning her bachelor's degree in Jerusalem, her master's degree at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

, and her PhD at the University of Strasbourg in 1981. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Rehabilitation of Young Camp Survivors after the Death Camps". In 1982, she published the paper "Psychosocial adjustment 30 years later of people who were in Nazi concentration camps as children". In 1984, she co-authored, with Elie Wiesel, ''Les enfants de Buchenwald: que sont devenus les 1000 enfants juifs sauvés en 1945?'' (The children of Buchenwald: What became of the 1,000 Jewish children rescued in 1945?) (Favre, 1984), and in 1986, ''Survivors: Children of the Holocaust'' (National Press, 1986). Dr. Robert Krell, a Holocaust survivor, saw the Dutch translation of the 1984 book, and in 2000, he translated it into English with supplementary material under the title ''The Children of Buchenwald: Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Their Post-war Lives'' (Gefen, 2000). Hemmendinger remained in contact with the Buchenwald children and their offspring for years. In 1970, she was invited by the child survivors to a dinner commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald. In 2003, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her work to rehabilitate the child survivors of Buchenwald. Hemmendinger died on 24 March 2024, at the age of 100.

Publications

* * * * (with Dr. Robert Krell) * * (with Elie Wiesel)

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

The Feist children pose on the steps of their home dressed in Purim costumes, March 1, 1934
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmendinger, Judith 1923 births 2024 deaths Bar-Ilan University alumni French emigrants to Israel French social workers German women centenarians German emigrants to France Israeli women centenarians 20th-century Israeli women writers Jewish centenarians Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Bad Homburg vor der Höhe University of Strasbourg alumni 20th-century German Jews 20th-century Israeli Jews