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Bela Schoenfeld Shares Her JDC Story

JDC helped family get from Shanghai to Santiago, Chile.

Hearing the personal stories of those JDC helped in the past adds an invaluable personal context to the Joint’s efforts.

Norbert (brother) and Bela

“When my father asked why we had been given two rooms, the Joint representative answered, ‘…because you and your wife have been deprived of privacy long enough!’”

Bela Schoenfeld

“The Joint paid for our trip from Shanghai, China to Santiago, Chile, including hotel and food during our three-week interim stay in San Francisco. As Holocaust-era refugees we had no money, but the Joint paid for all the expenses for our family of four.

“In Shanghai my parents, brother and I had shared a 2.5 square meter room with no water and no heat. In San Francisco, the JDC had reserved two rooms for us, one for my parents and one for my brother and me. They also provided enough money for food and incidental expenses. When my father asked why we had been given two rooms, the Joint representative answered, ‘…because you and your wife have been deprived of privacy long enough!’ With that message, the Joint helped us regain a bit of human dignity.”

This story has been shared with permission from Bela Schoenfeld.

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