Pieces of Memory | Vern Gideon

German passport of Elsa Gideon, 1939. The red — German passport of Elsa Gideon, 1939. The red "J" and the forcibly added first name "Sara" mark her as Jewish.

German passport of Werner Gideon, issued for travel from Germany to Solothurn, Switzerland. August 1939. The red — German passport of Werner Gideon, issued for travel from Germany to Solothurn, Switzerland. August 1939. The red "J" mark him as Jewish.

In 1939, Elsa and Robert Gideon made the final decision with Michael Bloch to leave Germany.

Werner and his sister Helga were sent to Switzerland to relatives as a precaution.

Over a period of six months, Helga brought her little brother Werner to the border, where they regularly met their parents.

Meanwhile, Robert and Elsa Gideon struggled to obtain the necessary papers to emigrate to the United States.

The process was frustrating, they were sent from consulate to consulate and had money worries, but finally, with the help of relatives in New York and Missouri, they managed to get passports, visas and tickets for the crossing.