Beth Gerson

Our Story Beth Gerson

Martha and Pinkas were married in Berlin, Germany on September 4, 1938, only two months before Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass." Their wedding was one of the last ceremonies performed in a synagogue in Berlin before WWII. The synagogue in which they were wed was destroyed during the horrific events of Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938.

Pinkas was arrested and nearly deported on October 28, 1938, during the Polenaktion, the decree intended to expel all Jewish residents holding Polish passports from the German Reich. The young couple had Polish passports, though they both had been born and raised in Germany.

Only days after Kristallnacht, Pinkas managed to escape when he ran, barely dressed and barefoot, out the side door of the family's living quarters behind their produce shop-leaving deep footprints in the snow that the Nazi Storm Troopers overlooked because they were busy "roughing up" the younger children and breaking the furniture.

On December 4, 1938, Martha and Pinkas fled Germany. And so their odyssey began, taking them from Berlin to Venice, London, Tel Aviv, and, finally, to America. Their story is one of history, humanity, courage, and conviction-emphasizing the importance of family, values and tradition.