"50 Children" Granddaughter Dies

For those who have followed the recent revelation, in book and film, of one of Philadelphia's most poignant stories -- that of the rescue of 50 children from Vienna, slipping them out of Hitler's deadly grip  -- here's a sad note.
The granddaughter of that daring couple, Gil and Eleanor Kraus, who helped the story come to light, has died. Liz Perle had an important literary career in her own right, as the obituary in the New York Times notes.
Her husband, journalist Steve Pressman, recognized the compelling story in Eleanor Kraus'  diary and produced a movie, 50 Children, the Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus,  and a book.  Our condolences to Steve.
One of those people who was rescued was Kurt Herman, whom I was able to interview before he passed away last December. You can read his story here.  Time goes by, the stories are lost. Unless people record them. Thanks, Liz and Steve.

Lest We Forget: Creating Legacy

Rescued in 1939 by Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus (center): 50 children/courtesy HBO

Part of "unretiring," is working on legacy -- making sure you pass along to others memory, history, experience, knowledge --whatever it is you have of yourself to give.
This week, I had a chance to do a little of that in stories I wrote for both the Foward and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I was drawn to the story of Philadelphia lawyer Gilbert Kraus and his wife Eleanor and how they rescued 50 Jewish children from Vienna in 1939 because, coincidentally, my own father escaped Vienna and arrived in New York just 18 days before these children.
I wrote a year ago about a documentary that was previewed in Philadelphia (see link here) which brought up for me my father's own experience.
It has been reworked and will air April 8, 2013 on HBO at 9 p.m. and is called "50 Children: the Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus."

Here are links to the stories I wrote for the Inquirer and the Forward. Each is written differently.

How did this story come to light? Eleanor Kraus wrote a memoir of their extraordinary mission. Decades later, when her granddaughter married a journalist, Steve Pressman, he was blown away by the detail, the danger, the daring.

 It's worth watching the film, narrated by Alan Alda and Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep's daughter.) And I am so glad I got to know at least one of those rescued, Kurt Herman, whose sense of humor and optimism -- and simultaneously his ice cold view of who you can really count on in life -- remind me so much of my father.