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Schools

Finding Gerda

Madison Junior High students help women locate her friend after 73 years of searching.

She may have only been 12, but Edith Westerfeld Schumer remembers the cruise ship all too well.

Crossing the Atlantic, the ship offered games, gambling and live entertainment. Schumer was too young to take part in most of the festivities. With 10 days to fill, Schumer needed something to do. Instead, she found someone ­– Gerda Katz.

The pair quickly formed a friendship, although Katz spent most the cruise suffering from sea sickness. Once in New York, however, the two explored the city without delay.

They saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Radio City Music Hall. Katz and Schumer enjoyed a show by the Rockettes, shopping on Fifth Avenue and visiting the Empire State Building.

But as quickly as the friendship ignited, it was extinguish.

Schumer and Katz landed in the United States on March 20, 1938. They were two young Jewish girls fleeing Germany via the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. The group brought 10 Jewish children from Europe at a time on cruise ships.

In total, 1,400 children – known as the 1,000 children – were saved from the Holocaustby the HIAS.

For 73 years Schumer, a resident of Skokie, wondered about Katz. She searched on the Internet. She even joined Facebook, where she found another Gerda Katz living in New York. As time passed, hope seemed lost.

That was until April. All Schumer needed was the detective work of the eighth-grade students at Madison Junior High School in Naperville.

Earlier in the semester, students read a book based on Schumer’s experience, Is it Night or Day. After a visit by the author, Schumer’s daughter Fern Schumer Chapman, the students began to wonder how they could fix the errors of the past. That’s when one hand became the voice of hundreds.

“Jessica [a student] raised her hand and said, 'Well let’s find Gerda,' just matter-of-factly,” said Catie O’Boyle, the social science department head at Madison. “Every class wanted to do it.”

“We worked really hard and researched a lot,” said Annissa Williams an eighth-grader at Madison. “We narrowed it down to two people.”

Within one week, the students whittled down more than 3 million Americans to two individuals. After multiple attempts, the group finally contacted a Katz in Seattle. The mystery was solved.

“[Schumer] was almost in disbelief,” said Larry Breitkopf, Schumer’s husband. “When she told me they found her I was in shock. She was certainly shocked.”

After the initial surprise, Schumer attempted to contact her daughter via phone and e-mail. Unable to get a response while Chapman was on a book tour, Schumer finally forwarded Katz’s e-mail.

Chapman recalled how surprised she was when she saw the e-mail.

On Friday, Schumer, Chapman and Breitkopf visited Madison to say thank you.

“I want to thank you, thank you, thank you a lot for what you did,” Schumer told an assembly of more than 100 students. “You’ll remember what you’ve done. You’ll say you know what we did in junior high; we found a friend for this lady who hasn’t seen her in 73 years.”

The students organized a full red carpet treatment for Schumer’s visit. A display featuring 1,000 origami boats to symbolize the children saved by HIAS was showcased. Two boats, made of special paper, sat in the middle to symbolize Schumer and Katz.

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Students also presented flowers, a gift basket and scrap book of research to Schumer. In a final gesture, the students brought cupcakes to celebrate Schumer’s recent 86th birthday.

The students also had a chance to ask questions. The one on everyone’s mind; when are Schumer and Katz going to meet in person. After six correspondents through e-mail and phone calls, the pair has set a tentative date for a late June meeting.

Minas Rasoulis, an eighth grader, enjoyed listening to Schumer answer questions from students about her life. But for Rasoulis, it was Schumer’s smile that made the experience worthwhile.

“I finally understand how big this is,” Rasoulis said. “When [Schumer] was smiling it felt nice to know that we gave her that smile.”

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