Hans Ament

Print View

Please sign in if you wish to adopt Hans Ament.
What is this?

Born: February 15, 1934 in Vienna, Austria
Died: April 15, 1944 in Marseilles, France
Yahrzeit: 22 Nisan

Gender: male

About Hans Ament:

Hans, the son of a successful manufacturer, was four years old when the Germans annexed Austria. He spent a lot of time playing with his older brother, Alfred, who taught him to ride his bicycle and play with a windup train. The family often spent their summers in the country.

After the German annexation of Austria, the Ament family fled to Belgium, where they immediately applied for visas to the United States. They received the visas in early 1940, but were put on a waiting list for berths on a ship. Hans attended school and quickly learned Flemish.

In May 1940, the Nazis invaded Belgium. Hanss father, who held a German passport, was arrested and sent to an internment camp in France.

In spring 1941, Hanss mother sold his brothers stamp collection for food. Later on she sold her engagement ring. When ordered to report for deportation to a resettlement camp, they fled to Marseilles in unoccupied France.

In Marseilles, Hans attended the local public school and soon learned French. His mother became ill and was hospitalized. Hans was sent to a childrens home in Izieu, and his brother was placed in a home for teenagers.

At the childrens home, Hans lived with over 40 Jewish children and several adult counselors. The children often went on hikes, picnics, and swimming, while the older children helped out on local farms. The adults were determined to give their young charges a respite from the stress and danger they had already experienced. In November 1942, the Germans occupied all of France. Now, no Jew was safe.

On April 6, 1944, when Hans was ten years old, the Nazis raided the home. Most of the children and their counselors were sent to the Auschwitz death camp on April 15, where they were murdered in the death camps.

Sources:
Grace Productions. (n.d.). Children of the Holocaust - Biographies. Retrieved February 01, 2010, from http://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm