Jews of Seattle
Franz Wassermann
What does being Jewish mean to you?

Image: Meryl Alcabes
Employment: Retired Psychiatrist
AGE: 98
Neighborhood: Green Lake
Even though my parents were very patriotic, my father needed to leave Germany to work. He was a professor, and he lost his job because he was Jewish. He eventually found a position in the US. I followed him, and it changed my life completely. I would not have survived otherwise, so being Jewish made a great deal of difference. Other countries should have taken in Jews, but they didn’t. I identify a lot with Jewishness. As a concrete example, my daughter and I attend the Holocaust Center’s yearly event. Their education of youngsters about the Holocaust and about tolerance is very important to me.