Jack Mayer

Holocaust survivor Jack Mayer

Oral history interview with Holocaust survivor Jack Mayer. Mayer was born in Speyer, Germany, in 1930 and lived there with his parents and older brother. After Hitler came to power in 1933, German Jews became increasingly restricted, which the Mayer children perceived at their young ages. Gentile friends would no longer play with them, they could not go to the movies, and they had to go to a Jewish school at their synagogue. They already had two uncles in the United States, who began making arrangements to get their relatives out of Germany. Mayer’s father came in early 1937 and started saving money for their visas and travel arrangements, borrowing money from members of the local Jewish community. Mayer and his mother and brother arrived in Ohio in April 1938. Due to his uncles’ foresight, none of their relatives died in the Holocaust. They still faced discrimination in the United States, but not because they were Jewish; people were wary of German immigrants during the war. In this interview, Mayer also discusses his experiences during the March of the Living, which he has done twice.