Survivor Margot Freudenberg’s touch on her grandson Larry will never fade

Margot and her husband, Walter, with their nine-year-old son, Henry, came to Charleston from Essen, Germany via London and New York in 1940. Their flight to freedom and safety has been told often.

Kristalnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, was the impetus for the decision that his grandmother, Margot made: they must leave Germany as soon as possible. Kristalnacht took place on Nov 9-10, 1938, when the Nazi regime coordinated a wave of antisemitic violence throughout Germany, Austria and other occupied countries. Synagogues and businesses’ windows were crashed by the Nazis. Rampaging mobs attacked Jews in the streets, in their homes and at their places of work and worship. Broken glass littered the streets in front of burning synagogues. By the end of the night, 91 Jews were dead, more than 900 synagogues were burned, nearly 7000 Jewish businesses were destroyed, cemeteries and schools were vandalized and 30,000 Jewish men had been deported to concentration camps.

Six months later and after untold hardships, Henry’s medical issues, fear and bureaucratic delays, this family of three made it to London where Henry was sent to the countryside for safety. They finally left for the US in March 1940 and arrived in Charleston with only two dollars and fifty cents. Help from the local Jewish community and international rescue agencies such as HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society which supported Jews fleeing persecution and poverty in Europe), made it possible to find housing.

Margot was trained in physical rehabilitation at the University of Munich but could not work here as she was not licensed. New acquaintances in the medical profession helped her take and pass an oral examination; she became only the fourth licensed physical therapist in all of South Carolina. Margot Freudenberg’s name became permanently associated with health, giving and kindness.

Larry and his sisters spent a great deal of time with their grandmother, Margot. They spent overnights and weekends with her, loved her dearly, and listened to her stories of life in Europe before the war and as antisemitism grew. But their father, Henry, never spoke about his early life. He refused to talk about Germany. He wanted nothing to do with Europe ever again. And he never did.

In 1996, Larry and his wife, Marsha, and their children traveled to Israel to commemorate the bat mitzvah of their daughter, Cara. Bat mitzvah is a coming-of-age ritual for 12-13 year old Jewish girls. They visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, which presents the history of the Shoah emphasizing the experiences of individual victims through artifacts, survivors’ testimonies and personal possessions.

Larry’s memories come from his grandmother, Margot, who took him with her, although he was only eight or nine years old, to Charleston’s nursing homes and hospitals where she provided physical therapy. Recipient of many awards and honors and recognized wherever she went in the Lowcountry, Margot was forever grateful to the United States for taking in her family. She touched the lives of thousands in the 72 years she was involved in the medical community. It was her way of paying back this country. She passed away nine years ago at the age of 105. Her ‘touch’ on her grandson, Larry, will never fade. ■