northern today 9 News northern Newman describes the young Henry as an adolescent boy who “ … traveled throughout five countries, often illegally; learned four languages; put his life in the hands of complete strangers and lost some of the most important people in his life.” N S U s t u d e n t r e s e a r c h e s s t o r y o f ‘loss and hope, desperation and determination’ Having grown up next door to his grandfather, Mike Newman thought he knew all about the cheerful, kindly man he called “Opa.” So when he later learned his grandfather had survived a harrowing journey as a child throughNazi territoryduringWorld War II, the Northern State University history major yearned for details. Sadly, his grandfather’s Alzheimer’s disease had drawn an impenetrable veil over the answers to Newman’s many questions. Newman sought the answers on his own when he traveled to Europe on a research trip partially funded by an NSU Undergraduate Research Grant. From May to June, he followed his grandfather’s trail across Europe during the Holocaust. With the information and impressions he gathered, Newman plans to write an honors thesis that may someday lead to a novel based on his grandfather’s life. “He was a huge part of my life,” said Newman. “But until later in his life, I knew nothing about his struggle with the Holocaust. He spoke about it to almost no one.” The man The late Henry Newman, born Heinz Najman in Vienna, Austria, arrived in America in 1945 and joined the U.S. Army. While stationed in postwar Germany, Henry began dating and fell in love with a German girl, Newman said. “I could never marry you,” he told the girl. “You’re German, and I’m Jewish.” “Why does that matter?” she retorted. Newman said that clinched it – Henry and Gina were married and settled in the U.S. after the war. Family members knew Henry had suffered through the Holocaust but was reticent on the subject, Newman said. Henry did include a few details in 30 pages of handwritten memoirs, in which he mentions experiencing Krystallnacht, a night of mass anti-Semitic violence in Germany. “(The memoirs) had a very emotional impact on me,” Newman said. “In all of my time with him, I never realized he went through something so traumatic.” Newman pieced together bits of Henry’s journey from his grandfather’s memoirs and grandmother’s memories. His grandmother, Gina - “Oma” – was Henry’s confidante. She helped fill in gaps in the memoirs, Newman said. “I could never marry you,” he told the girl. “You’re German, and I’m Jewish.” Mike Newman, right, pictured with family member Manuela Bulla, left, at the Winter Palace in Vienna.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzkyNTY=