Minnesota based holocaust survivor, teacher, writer, inventor Fred Amram has died at age 89
Fred Amram speaks to the audience that came to watch him officially restore his German citizenship on Sept. 25, 2018 at the Germanic-American Institute in St. Paul.
Christopher Juhn for MPR News
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On Feb. 12, Minnesota based inventor, writer, teacher, creativity expert and Jewish holocaust survivor died. Fred Amram was 89 years old.
When Fred was six years old, World War Two broke out and his Jewish family fled Germany. They were stripped of their citizenship.
Fast forward 2018, when Fred was 85, MPR News reporter Peter Cox did a story about him because he was regaining his German citizenship.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation. Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: We didn't want to allow the passing of an amazing man to go without a public remembrance, although it is a bit belated. Last week, Minnesota-based inventor, writer, teacher, creativity expert, and Jewish Holocaust survivor Fred Amram died. Fred was 89 years old. When Fred was six years old, World War II broke out, and his Jewish family fled Germany. They were stripped of their citizenship. Fast forward to 2018 when Fred was 85, and MPR News reporter Peter Cox did a story about him because he was regaining his German citizenship. We thought in honor of Fred, we'd like to play some of that story.
PETER COX: Fred Amram was born in Nazi Germany in 1933. When he was just six, just days after World War II began, his family fled for their lives to New York City. He was a refugee stripped of his German citizenship. Amram eventually became a professor at the University of Minnesota, where he retired in 2001. Since then, he's been active, writing a book and relating his experiences of escaping Nazi Germany. He advocates for refugees from all over the world. The Minneapolis man found out his former country was offering renaturalization for those whose German citizenship had been stripped. He decided to accept their offer.
FRED AMRAM: It's sweet that we are building bridges. We are speaking about atoning. We're speaking about making amends.
PETER COX: Amram was happy to have taken the step forward. But in the same moment, he says there's bitterness over what happened to him and his family. He says he mourns for the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. The vast number included his own.
FRED AMRAM: I'm bitter about my cousin, Aaltje. On the 19th of February 1943, at the age of 3 and 1/2, was stripped of her clothing, pushed into an Auschwitz gas chamber, cremated. And all that was left was ashes and smoke. And all that I have left is a fading photo and a fading memory.
PETER COX: As part of the ceremony, Amram invited Ellen Kennedy, the executive director for World Without Genocide, to speak. She talked about the millions of refugees worldwide, especially those who have fled the war in Syria. Kennedy paraphrased the German-born American philosopher, Hannah Arendt.
ELLEN KENNEDY: So remember, article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone has a right to a nationality.
PETER COX: Amram's friend Manny Gabler, who lives in Minneapolis, also survived the Holocaust, fleeing Europe with his family as a toddler. Gabler grew up in an international settlement in Shanghai. For many years, he had no country until he became a US citizen. He recently regained his German citizenship and now holds both passports. He's glad he made the decision.
MANNY GABLER: Oh, fantastic. When I went to Germany two weeks ago, I belong there. It's my home. And there's some connection you can't-- I can't explain it. But you know you belong to this country.
PETER COX: After the ceremony, Amram greeted friends and signed copies of his biography.
MAN: Congratulations. Thank you very much.
FRED AMRAM: Thank you.
PETER COX: He reflected on what he wanted to do with his new dual citizenship, although he does not plan to move from the US.
FRED AMRAM: In Germany, like in so many other countries, there is a growing right wing. And if I can do a teeny part in standing up against that right wing, if I can do a teeny part in saying, no, we really are brothers and sisters, cool. That's what I want to do.
PETER COX: Peter Cox, Minnesota Public Radio News.
CATHY WURZER: Fred Amram died on Sunday, February 12th. Services were held last week. He's survived by his wife, Sandra Brick, his daughter, Susan, and his two grandchildren. Several years ago, as Peter told you, Fred wrote a memoir, We're in America Now. With his wife Sandra Brick, created a traveling exhibit called Lest We Forget, a show of multimedia works of art with short literary vignettes that explore a young Jewish youngster's coming of age in Nazi Germany and America.
PETER COX: Fred Amram was born in Nazi Germany in 1933. When he was just six, just days after World War II began, his family fled for their lives to New York City. He was a refugee stripped of his German citizenship. Amram eventually became a professor at the University of Minnesota, where he retired in 2001. Since then, he's been active, writing a book and relating his experiences of escaping Nazi Germany. He advocates for refugees from all over the world. The Minneapolis man found out his former country was offering renaturalization for those whose German citizenship had been stripped. He decided to accept their offer.
FRED AMRAM: It's sweet that we are building bridges. We are speaking about atoning. We're speaking about making amends.
PETER COX: Amram was happy to have taken the step forward. But in the same moment, he says there's bitterness over what happened to him and his family. He says he mourns for the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. The vast number included his own.
FRED AMRAM: I'm bitter about my cousin, Aaltje. On the 19th of February 1943, at the age of 3 and 1/2, was stripped of her clothing, pushed into an Auschwitz gas chamber, cremated. And all that was left was ashes and smoke. And all that I have left is a fading photo and a fading memory.
PETER COX: As part of the ceremony, Amram invited Ellen Kennedy, the executive director for World Without Genocide, to speak. She talked about the millions of refugees worldwide, especially those who have fled the war in Syria. Kennedy paraphrased the German-born American philosopher, Hannah Arendt.
ELLEN KENNEDY: So remember, article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone has a right to a nationality.
PETER COX: Amram's friend Manny Gabler, who lives in Minneapolis, also survived the Holocaust, fleeing Europe with his family as a toddler. Gabler grew up in an international settlement in Shanghai. For many years, he had no country until he became a US citizen. He recently regained his German citizenship and now holds both passports. He's glad he made the decision.
MANNY GABLER: Oh, fantastic. When I went to Germany two weeks ago, I belong there. It's my home. And there's some connection you can't-- I can't explain it. But you know you belong to this country.
PETER COX: After the ceremony, Amram greeted friends and signed copies of his biography.
MAN: Congratulations. Thank you very much.
FRED AMRAM: Thank you.
PETER COX: He reflected on what he wanted to do with his new dual citizenship, although he does not plan to move from the US.
FRED AMRAM: In Germany, like in so many other countries, there is a growing right wing. And if I can do a teeny part in standing up against that right wing, if I can do a teeny part in saying, no, we really are brothers and sisters, cool. That's what I want to do.
PETER COX: Peter Cox, Minnesota Public Radio News.
CATHY WURZER: Fred Amram died on Sunday, February 12th. Services were held last week. He's survived by his wife, Sandra Brick, his daughter, Susan, and his two grandchildren. Several years ago, as Peter told you, Fred wrote a memoir, We're in America Now. With his wife Sandra Brick, created a traveling exhibit called Lest We Forget, a show of multimedia works of art with short literary vignettes that explore a young Jewish youngster's coming of age in Nazi Germany and America.
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