Holocaust Memories

Michael Gerson did an admirable job describing how state-sponsored hate can infect a whole nation [op-ed, March 26]. The events he recalled about my childhood in Austria were exactly as I related them to him. However, with the constraints of space, the piece did not give credit to Britain for what it did in those dark years. It was Britain that offered a haven to 10,000 Jewish children when all other doors were closed to them.

We were among the fortunate. With the notable exception of the one person, whose hurtful remarks made a strong impact on a little boy, most of my encounters in England were very positive. I was never made to feel an outsider. I was always accepted as one of their own wherever I went.

After the war, Britain offered citizenship to all those, like myself, stranded with no families left in Europe. I gladly accepted.

After my service with the Israeli army, I returned to England to complete my national service with the British army. It was a positive experience, as was my training for the merchant navy and the years I spent at sea. I am still in close contact with the only surviving member of the family that took us in when we arrived in England. I look back on my years in England with warmth and gratitude.

FRED TRAUM

Silver Spring

¿

Regarding Michael Gerson's moving column:

While the record of the transport of that Austrian Jewish couple on their way to their killing is correct, their names had already been tainted by the Nazi extermination machine. After the Nazi takeover of Austria, all Jewish citizens had second names added to their passports: Israel for men and Sara for women.

This was done so that Jews could be easily recognized to block their emigration as well as to easily select them for extermination, as happened to that unfortunate couple . . . and to millions more.

CARLOS E. SLUZKI

Washington