Hannah Pick
About Hannah Pick
After the National Socialists came to power, Hannah Pick's family emigrated to Amsterdam. There she met Anne Frank and attended school with her. In June '43, "Hanneli", as Anne called her in her diary, was arrested by the Gestapo together with her father, her grandparents and her younger sister Gabi and deported to Westerbork and then to Bergen-Belsen. There she met her childhood friend again in March '45 shortly before her death. Hannah was crammed into the Lost Train together with others at the beginning of April '45 and finally survived the Holocaust after a 10-day odyssey through Germany with her sister. Today she lives as part of a large and loving family in Jerusalem, the home of her faith and choice.
"It was better than in the other camps: We weren't tattooed, we weren't shaved bald, our parcels weren't taken from us, we were allowed to wear our own clothes and we weren't killed. You see, you have to say thank you for strange things."
A picture to live on
In the picture is Hannah Pick's granddaughter, Michal Meir. While we're talking to Hannah, the doorbell rings. Hannah's granddaughter is visiting her grandma on her way home from work. She does this every day. It's lovely to watch the two of them talking: the loving togetherness between generations.
Our encounter
We sit opposite each other in her living room. Hannah's entire flat tells the story of a very educated woman. That's intimidating at first. But then
Hannah starts chatting about the past and Germany. You quickly forget that you're in Israel. We have the same home and a similar culture. Today it's about her story. And although Hannah Pick is often invited to talk about this story and about her friend Anne Frank, she took her time. What's more, she was friendly and open. If there had been time, she would have invited me to a Shabbat meal with her family. The openness and warmth with which she met a stranger is impressive.
Hannah passed away in 2022.