Of the approximately 1.6 million Jewish children who lived in Europe before World War II, only about 100,000 survived the Holocaust. Maud Dahme was one of them.
The educator and author will share her riveting story of surviving the Holocaust and being a hidden child at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 19) in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. Sponsored by the WVU Campus Read, the event is free and open to the public.
Born in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, six-year-old Dahme and her sister were separated from their parents in 1942 and placed in hiding for the remainder of World War II. After the war, the sisters were reunited with their parents and emigrated to America in 1950.
Dahme dedicated much of her adult life to education, and specifically Holocaust education, for both teachers and students in New Jersey. She served for 24 years as a member of the state Board of Education, including five years as president.
Her autobiography “Chocolate, The Taste of Freedom” chronicles her wartime adventures as well as her post-war experiences — reunion with parents, immigration, U.S. schools, marriage and time as a Holocaust education advocate.
She and her sister are among those featured in “The Hidden Child,” a 2006 documentary shown on PBS and at the Holocaust Museum in Washington.