Jewish Girls School House, Berlin
Sonja’s enrollment in school coincided with the rise of the National Socialists, yet she was initially shielded within the Jewish girls’ school on August Straße in Berlin-Mitte. During these early years, her family experienced a strange, temporary reprieve; as a Polish citizen, her father was initially exempt from the 1933 boycotts.
The Sabbath was the heartbeat of her childhood. Sonja remembered the family gathering every week for meals and the Havdalah ceremony, where little Martin would stand tall, carefully holding the braided candles. Every Sabbath and Jewish holiday, she walked with her parents, her brothers (Sami and Martin), and her grandparents to the Orthodox synagogue on Heidereuther Gasse. She vividly recalled the joy of celebrating Simchat Torah, leaning over the gallery to cheer and shower the men below with candies.
Sonja's Story 