My name is Noemi
B. I was born in 1922 in Szeged, Hungary. After my graduation from
High School in 1940, Europe was already at war. In 1944 I was taken
to Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and later to Buchenwald, Germany.
After liberation I returned to Budapest, Hungary. In 1945 I was married
to Earnest B.; we had two sons. I have 5 Grandchildren.
Since my education
was interrupted by the war, after my boys were in Kindergarden, I
enrolled in a Teacher Training College in Budapest. I got my degree
in Literature and History. My husband also was a teacher. In 1956,
during the Hungarian uprising against the Communist Government, we
escaped to Austria and a month later we received permission to come
to the United States. We settled down in St. Louis, Mo. Here, after
learning English, I enrolled at the University of Missouri at St.
Louis where I received BA in Education, and also a Life-Certificate
to teach in grades K-12. I have been teaching 6th grade for 16 years.
In 1980 I became Teacher of the Year of my district, and in 1982 I
was selected as a first "Runner Up" of the State competition. After
the 1981-82 school year, we moved to Bellingham, Washington.
My husband passed away in 1994.
About 15 years ago,
I became active in lecturing about my experiences in the Holocaust
to Civic and Church groups, and visited schools teaching students
from grades 5 to College level about the "Lessons of the Holocaust".
In 1997 I became one of the winners of the State-wide competition
for the Golden Apple Award, given for "excellence in Education." In
1998 I received from the Washington State Retired Association
the "Outreach Award" for teaching the "Lessons of the Holocaust".
In 1999, I was the Commencement Speaker at Gonzaga University
at Spokane, Washington. I spoke to the Law- and Graduate students.
There I received an Honorary Doctorate of Law; here again I spoke
about the Lessons of the Holocaust. In 1999 the local Red Cross awarded
me with a "Real Hero" award for education, for my work in Bellingham Schools.
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