Lore and Simon Rosen family papers

Lore Baron (later Rosen) was the daughter of Paula Wollrauch (May 10, 1893-1965, b. Mannheim, Germany) and Bernard Baron. She was born Hannalore on July 15, 1924 in Mannheim Germany. Around 1928 her father left for New York. He only returned once, in 1932, and Paula and Bernard divorced in 1935. After her father left Mannheim, her mother supported the two of them by working in the Jewish home for the aged. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Lore began to experience antisemitism. Jewish students first had to sit in the back of the classroom. In 1936 she was expelled from public school and forced to attend an all Jewish school. On the morning of Kristallnacht (November 10, 1938), a neighbor intercepted Lore on her way to school and told her to go to the Jewish old-age home to join her mother. As the pogrom broke out throughout Germany, Lore and her mother spent the day in hiding and when they returned home they discovered that the SA had ransacked their apartment. The events of that day prompted Paula to secure a spot for Lore on a Kindertransport to England. Lore arrived in England on February 6, 1939 where she was met by a stranger who told her she would live with his family in Leeds. The family had two older girls, but Lore never felt at home there. At the age of sixteen Lore had to go to work since she didn’t have the funds to attend high school. She first worked as an apprentice hairdresser. She later obtained a job as a nurse’s assistant in a private clinic. However, she was unable to obtain an alien registration work card and had to leave the job. Deeply unhappy, Lore left her foster family and through a friend found work in a clothing retailer. At the age of 18, Lore enlisted in the British Army. Though officially considered an alien, she was accepted on December 13, 1942, and was stationed at a training camp in Wales, working as a cook for the Royal Welch Fusiliers. She later also served as an interrogation translator. After the war ended, Lore learned that her mother had survived and was living in France. A few months after Lore left for England, Paula Wollrauch and her boyfriend Jacob Friedrich escaped to Brussels in May 1939. However following the German occupation they were arrested and imprisoned. Paula was sent to the Gurs internment camp in France, from which she twice escaped only to be recaptured. Finally, Paula’s sister and brother-in-law bribed a guard to obtain her release. Paula found work in Malemort-sur-Corrèze. She also received a protective Salvadoran citizenship certificate. After the war ended, Lore was reunited with her mother in Malemort-sur-Corrèze. Lore was discharged from the army in early 1946 and returned to Leeds, where she again went to work as a seamstress for the clothing retailer. She also met Simon (Sammy) Rosen in a Jewish veterans’ social cub. Simon was born in Liverpool on April 8, 1920. His parents, Soloman and Hinda Rosen, emigrated from Mogilev to England in 1918. Simon enlisted in the British Army on June 20, 1940 and trained to be a radio operator. He served with the tank corps in North Africa, then in Sicily and Greece. Simon and Lore married on September 3, 1947. In the fall of 1948, they left for Israel to serve in the War of Independence, and Simon enlisted in Machal (foreign volunteers). Paula also immigrated to Palestine that year. The family lived in Tel Aviv for six years, and in 1954, they moved to Canada. In 1963 they immigrated to the States and settled in Rochester, NY and then moved to Los Angeles in August 1967. Paula remained in Israel.

Simon was born in Liverpool on April 8, 1920. His parents, Soloman and Hinda Rosen, emigrated from Mogilev to England in 1918. Simon enlisted in the British Army on June 20, 1940 and trained to be a radio operator. He served with the tank corps in North Africa, then in Sicily and Greece. Simon and Lore Baron married on September 3, 1947. In the fall of 1948, they left for Israel to serve in the War of Independence, and Simon enlisted in Machal (foreign volunteers). Paula also immigrated to Palestine that year. The family lived in Tel Aviv for six years, and in 1954, they moved to Canada. In 1963 they immigrated to the States and settled in Rochester, NY and then moved to Los Angeles in August 1967. Paula remained in Israel.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter K. Rosen

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Peter K. Rosen, son of Lore and Simon Rosen.