Susan Berman honors her grandfather Karl Simon, born in 1884 in Wertle, Germany. He was a prominent businessman and horse dealer. He was arrested by the SS on Kristallnacht; while in custody, he was able to get a message back to his wife: “Send the children away.” Three of his four daughters would survive the Holocaust, but he did not. After he was released from custody he booked passage on the St. Louis, bound for Cuba. Once the ship reached Cuba, the passengers were not allowed to disembark, and they were sent to Holland. Karl Simon, his wife, and one of his daughters, Ilse, were still in Holland when the Nazis invaded; the situation grew progressively worse for the Jews. Eventually, Simon, his wife, and Ilse were sent to Westerbork Labor Camp and then on to Sorbibor Concentration Camp in Poland, where they died.
The Nashville Holocaust Memorial