My Lifelong Search for Family—Old and New

Profile from Spring/Summer 2019 issue of the Museum’s Planned Giving newsletter Generations

Legacy of Light Guardian Felice Zimmern Stokes of Teaneck, New Jersey

I was born in October 1939 in Walldürn, in southwestern Germany. A year later, my parents, David and Lydia Zimmern, z”l, sister Beate, and I were all deported across the French border to the Gurs internment camp, where we were separated from our parents. In 1941, a relief worker from the OSE (Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants, or The Children’s Aid Society) took us to a home for Jewish preschoolers in Limoges, where we stayed for about two years.

In 1943, I was separated from my sister and hidden in the loving home of Monsieur and Madame Gaston Patoux until 1945. At the end of the war Beate came to live with us for a month, and it was only then I realized I had a sister.

In 1946, the OSE moved us to two Jewish orphanages. In 1951, we were sent to America to live with our aunt and uncle; when we arrived, we learned that would never happen. Instead, Beate and I lived separately in several foster homes until we were grown.

Through letters my parents wrote to my aunt and uncle in the U.S., I got to know them a bit, but I never stopped looking for information about their fates.

Finally, in the 1970s, I found their names in Serge Klarsfeld’s book, Memorial to the Jews Deported from France, 1942-1944; they had been taken from Rivesaltes, then Drancy, and then transported via Convoy 40 to Auschwitz on November 4, 1942. I have since observed this date as their Yarzheit.

Although I am grateful to have survived, it was difficult to grow up with major connections missing from my life. But when I started becoming involved with the Museum and its staff, I ended up finding both a place to memorialize my parents and an extended family.

It’s been so meaningful to have my parents’ names inscribed on the Museum’s Donors Wall and to create the David and Lydia Zimmern Fellowship. I’ve also supported the Shapell Collections, Conservation and Research Center, both financially and through artifact donations. Most importantly, I have established a legacy gift for the Museum’s Endowment.

Recently, one of the Museum curators was contacted by someone named Zimmern who was conducting research. The curator told her, “I know that name! I think you have a relative!” and immediately alerted me. I’ve already visited my newfound cousin, a connection made thanks to the amazing care of Museum staff!

There are people who can never be replaced and pieces of life that cannot be restored. But I am so grateful to the Museum for their work and for welcoming me into their family.