13 Driver’s Licenses
BY FRED CHERNOW
This compelling
story is about 13
Jewish citizens of
the small Bavarian village
of Lichtenfels in southern
Germany. It involves
Building Three resident
Werner Nass. Werner’s
grandfather’s driver’s
license, dated 1935, was
found with a dozen others.
It had been confiscated
from Manfred Goldmeier, Wer-ner’s
maternal grandfather, when
he was arrested 80 years ago along
with other Jewish citizens. All had
lived peacefully in Lichtenfels for
generations prior to their arrest.
The licenses were discovered
in 2017 in an abandoned file
cabinet in an old government
building in Lichtenfels where
Werner grew up. A history teacher
at the local high school asked for
them because he thought it would
be a challenging project for his
students to find the descendants
of the license owners and return
the aging documents.
The students, none of them
Jewish, for the next nine months
worked diligently and enthusiasti-cally
on this project until they were
able to locate the family descen-dants
of each of the 13 individu-als.
The students explored local
archives, ship manifests, databases
at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, and Ellis
Island, as well as other Internet
sources. This led to Werner’s cousin
and eventually to Werner at North
Shore Towers.
Werner, age 6, with his cousins
Investment Club Update
BY BUD BANK
The North Shore Towers
Investment Club met on
Tuesday, February 10, in
the Coleridge lounge. Our main
speaker was Ronald Roark of
Morgan Stanley. He spoke about
the coronavirus and how it affects
the stock markets in China and
the US, we all appreciated his
presentation.
We discussed which stocks to
buy and sell. We did not sell any
but we did buy two stocks. Year to
date we have done better than the
Dow and the S&P. We also had a
new member join us, very nice and
very knowledgeable.
MIGDAL CHAPTER OF HADASSAH AT NORTH SHORE TOWERS PRESENTS…
The historical novel, “The Lake
on Fire” by Rosellen Brown,
will be discussed on April 29
by the Migdal/Hadassah Book Club
at 2:00 PM in the Coleridge Lounge.
The discussion will be led by Arlene
Augenbraun and Bern Rosenthal.
This epic novel focuses on the lives of a young
Jewish woman and her precocious brother, both
immigrants from Ukraine, who have abandoned their
failing family farm in Wisconsin to seek the promise
of the American Dream in Chicago during the late
1890s, the “Gilded Age.” Dealing with themes of
family, love, class, survival and revolution, the novel
promises to “spark” a stimulating discussion.
Here is what the critics have said:
“A transporting drama of class and love, steeped
in period feeling, written with beauty and convic-tion.”
- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“With her first book in nearly two decades, the
author—-has written a big, social novel that reg-isters
growing inequality, with fully realized char-acters,
a marvelous sense of place, and a profound
heart.” - The National Book Review
“It’s been 18 years since we had a novel from the
author—-but this tale of Jewish immigrant siblings
in 19th century Chicago was worth the wait. Brown
depicts their world with prose that soars.” - Tom
Beer, Newsday
Discussion Wednesday,
April 29, 2:00pm
Coleridge Lounge
Migdal/Hadassah Book Club April
Book Selection: “The Lake on Fire”
NEXT INVESTMENT
CLUB MEETING
Tuesday, March 10, 7:30pm
– Coleridge Lounge
All residents are welcome
to join us. Please call Herb
Cooper at 718-631-8264
Daisy and Werner Nass
An attractive exhibit was pre-pared
consisting of 13 large vertical
panels, one for each family. Each
panel features an enlargement of the
original driver’s license and photos
of the homes the people were forced
to leave behind, as well as precious
pictures of their families and their
descendants.
This exhibit has traveled all
over Germany and
was well-received,
including TV and
press coverage.
It is currently at
the Museum of
Jewish Heritage at
Battery Park City,
Manhattan. When
it leaves here it will
go to numerous
Holocaust centers
in the United States
as well as in Israel
and Argentina
where descendants
now live.
Interested readers
can see the pan-els
on their home
computer. Just open
your browser and
type in “13 Driver’s
Licenses.” You will also see how
several American newspapers have
covered this emotional story.
The photos here depict Werner
and Daisy Nass in front of his
grandfather’s panel as well as a
photo of Werner at age 6 with
his cousins just before he and his
parents fled to safety in the United
States.
38 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ March 2020