Gerry Kraus

"If only mankind could live by the golden rule, we could have anarchy and live happily ever after."

Name at birth

Gernard Alfred Krause

Date of birth

11/07/1933

Where were you born?

Berlin, Germany.

Where did you grow up?

In and around Berlin.

Name of father, occupation

George Krause, Worked for German post office.

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Ruth Arndt, Homemaker.

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents and me.

How many in entire extended family?

Mother’s side: my mother’s brother and sister immigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s and they brought their mother, Martha Arndt (my grandmother) to the U.S. in 1934. Father’s side: my father’s family was Protestant. I never met my father’s parents because they stopped talking to my father when he converted from Protestantism to Judaism when he got married. My father had nine siblings, four of whom I met and went to for help during the war.

Who survived the Holocaust?

My mother, father and I all survived.

As the Nazis began enforcing their discrimination laws, my father was working at the post office. Since he was born Protestant, they gave him the option of divorcing his wife in order to keep his job. He refused to do this and he was fired. Shortly after, he was sent to do forced labor, first at a communications company, then in Magdeburg to work on an air force base. My mother was then sent to do forced labor making parachutes in a factory. At that time, I was 8 years old and was left to fend for myself. As my name and appearance were not obviously Jewish, I tried to blend in as much as possible, staying out of areas where I was known.

There is a specific moment during this time that I believe saved my life. I was walking down a street when a Hitler Youth recognized me as being Jewish and confronted me. The youth took out a knife and put it to my neck, threatening me. In self-defense, I beat the young person up, so badly that I remember being unsure if I had killed him. He ran away and never returned to that part of town again. (I later found out that I had not killed the youth.)

I went to stay with my father’s brother in Falkenberg. It was a small village, with a one-room school that I attended. This lasted about one year, until the S.S. units moved into the town. The commander of the unit chose my uncle’s house as his place to stay, and my uncle had him share a room with me. This made me very uncomfortable and after one night I decided to leave.

From there, I went on to Zeuthen and stayed with another relative on my father’s side. I stayed there for about a year and left around the end of 1943. I then went back to Berlin, to areas where I wasn’t known. I took shelter in a bombed out building, collected food and money in what every ways possible. I also carried suitcases at the railroad for people in exchange for food or money. Sometimes I would also jump onto moving trains to steal coal to exchange for food.

I survived this way until finally my father escaped from where he was being kept and made his way back to Berlin. Luckily, we reunited at a family friend’s house. This was right around the time that the Russian army began moving into Germany. This time was quite terrifying.

After the war, my mother returned as well and we moved in with relatives and began putting our lives back together. My father eventually found work, and this enabled us to live on our own in the Russian sector of Berlin. However, we could not apply to come to the United States. while living there, so we moved to the U.S. sector of Berlin. From there, we were able to come to the United States in 1949 as Displaced Persons, and settled in New York City.

Where were you in hiding?

Falkenberg, Zeuthen, and Berlin.

Where did you go after being liberated?

My family and I moved in with relatives until we were able to get on our feet. We then moved to the Russian sector of Berlin, and eventually moved to the U.S. sector of Berlin so that we could apply to come to the U.S.

When did you come to the United States?

In 1949 as Displaced Persons.

Where did you settle?

New York City.

Occupation after the war

I went to high school in New York then started at City College. I then volunteered for the draft for the war. While there, I went to leadership school and then to CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological) school, and also served in Korea. Once out of the war, I went back to New York and attended New York University for chemistry. I left school just before finishing, and took a position as a flavor chemist at Fritzsche Brothers flavor company.

When and where were you married?

My first marriage was in 1957 in New York to Mary Bradley. My second marriage was to Eva Klein in 1975 in Michigan.

Spouse

Eva Klein Kraus, Flavor chemist.

Children

Richard Kraus, born in 1957, deceased in 2010; Patricia Kraus, Lopez, born in 1958, deceased in 1995; George (married to Kristine) Kraus, born in 1959, lives in Hamburg, Michigan; Jeff (married to Lucinda) Kraus, born in 1961, live in Howell, Michigan; Ian (married to Nancy) Kraus, born in 1962, lives in Howell, Michigan; David Kraus, born in 1971, lives in New York, NY; Shoshana (married to Erik Christiansen) Kraus, lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

Grandchildren

Six and two great-grandchildren.

What do you think helped you to survive?

A combination of luck and street smarts.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

If only mankind could live by the golden rule, we could have anarchy and live happily ever after.