Miriam knows what it’s like to be a stranger in a strange new land.
Born in Ecuador in 1940 to parents who fled Nazi Germany, Miriam grew up knowing nothing about her parents’ escape. Their small Jewish community never spoke of the Holocaust or the war in Europe.
When she was just 14, Miriam’s life changed completely. She became the first from her community to be sent away for education. The transition was difficult – she spent her first year in Yonkers, New York with a family she’d just met.
“Illiterate in three languages”
Speaking no English, just Spanish and German, Miriam was the only foreigner in a school of 3,000 students. She learned English by taking advanced Spanish and German classes and working with a young tutor. Her German teacher, who was Jewish and understood Miriam’s past, cheered her up with good-natured teasing, saying she was illiterate in three languages.
“His joking around made me feel better,” Miriam says.
A self-described “people person,” Miriam went to dances and parties and slowly made friends. She also learned about World War II and the Holocaust in European history class.
The silence that shrouded her parents’ past started to unravel. During summers back in Ecuador, Miriam and her girlfriends compared notes about what they were learning in school. They pieced together details of the painful past their community had hidden from them. Still, they didn’t dare broach the topic with anyone outside their friend group.
Bright lights, big city
Back in the U.S., Miriam embraced her new life in her new country just as her parents had embraced theirs in South America.
Miriam moved to Manhattan after high school, where she lived independently and soaked up the city’s vibrant energy. She loved the culture, art, museums, cafés and especially theater; in those days, she could buy a standing-room-only ticket for $2 or $3. Naturally, she saw dozens of Broadway productions and kept the playbills as souvenirs.
She also married her former English tutor. Eventually, they settled in Long Island and raised two sons.
“We met at 14, and we were married for 62 years,” she says with a smile.
A sense of community
Years later, Miriam moved across the country to be closer to her grown sons. Once again, she found community and a sense of belonging – this time as a resident at Holiday Senior Living.
One way Miriam connects with her fellow residents is by showing them the documentary An Unknown Country. A film by Miriam’s childhood friend Eva, it tells the story of European Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution and built new lives in Ecuador.
After the film, Miriam answers questions about her family and her past. Doing so has helped her feel a true sense of belonging.
“It’s like finally finding the piece that was missing,” Miriam says. “I don’t feel like an outsider here. I’m not the only one with a story of resilience, of starting over. We all understand each other in ways that are hard to describe.”
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