To support the family, the children Werner and Helga also had to work from an early age. Werner started at the age of eight.

"I don't think we ever really grew up as children. There was no happy, carefree childhood."

In this interview excerpt, Vern Gideon talks about his experiences with anti-Semitism in the U.S. and how he came to change his name from Werner to Vern at the age of 15/16.