Susan shared stories from her remarkable life with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and focused on the resilience and resistance of Jewish people during this horrific time in world history. Students had a chance to reflect in Long House and further discuss Holocaust Remembrance day.

Susan’s mother – pregnant with Susan at the time – and her 3-year-old sister were the only Holocaust survivors in her family. Susan was born in Budapest, Hungary, after her family was fortunately transported to a Budapest ghetto instead of Auschwitz in 1944. 

In 1956, at age 12, Susan, her mother, and her sister escaped Communist Hungary by fleeing through a forest to Austria. During Tuesday’s Assembly, moderated by 8th grader Jake Kleinhandler '27, Susan discussed the challenge of assimilating to American culture and entering school in the U.S. as a 7th grader who did not speak English.

Susan expressed the importance of sharing her story of survival today to help others. 

Susan Kalev was born in 1944 in Budapest, Hungary. The only survivors in her family were her mother, who was pregnant with Susan at the time, and Susan's 3-year-old sister. Her mother was lucky enough to get on a special list and was transported to a Budapest ghetto instead of Auschwitz. She was born in the ghetto and never knew her father. Her older sister didn’t survive. Although her mother never spoke about her war experiences, Susan grew up in the shadow of the unspoken, inner narrative that shaped her mother’s life. After the war, her mother remarried and gave birth to her younger sister. In 1956, her mother, stepfather, and step-sister escaped Communist Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution by fleeing through a forest to Austria. After a couple of months, they were granted permission to immigrate to the US. It was difficult for a 12-year-old Susan to assimilate into the new American culture and learn a new language. When she turned 21 years old, she decided to travel to Israel. Susan fell in love with the country and joined the Kibbutz community. She also met her husband and later had her first child there. Susan also received a degree from the school of social work. Susan and her family returned to New York in 1971. Later, she gave birth to her second daughter while continuing to work as a social worker. These days, Susan still works as a psychotherapist with a focus on trauma, loss, and separation. She was featured in “Remember Us,” the book written on stories from Hungarian Holocaust survivors. Susan is also an active member of the Holocaust Survivors Speakers Bureau at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. She continues to write and present to different communities about her mother’s experiences and survival during Holocaust.

 

Susan was asked to participate in this year's Witness Theater production at Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. She has been meeting with high school students on a weekly basis to share her own story about the Holocaust, which later will culminate in a theater performance.