Hans Ament

Hans Ament, the younger son of Ernestina and Max Ament, was born in Vienna, Austria on February 15, 1934. Hans’ father was a successful manufacturer, and the family often spent their summers in the country. Hans played with his older brother, Alfred, who taught him to ride his bicycle and play with a wind-up train.

When the Germans annexed Austria, Hans was 4 years old. 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. Hans’ father, who held a German passport, was arrested and sent to an internment camp in France.

In spring 1941, Hans’ mother sold his brother’s 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 children’s home in Izieu, and his brother was placed in a home for teenagers.

At the children’s home, Hans lived with over 40 Jewish children and several adult counselors. The children often went on hikes and picnics and went swimming, while the older children helped out on local farms.

The adults were determined to give their young charges a change from the stress and danger they had already experienced.

In November 1942, the Germans occupied all of France. Now, no Jew was safe. The children’s home at Izieu was raided on April 6, 1944. Forty-four Jewish children, including Hans, were arrested, along with the counselors. They were sent to Drancy Transit Camp the next day. Hans was deported from Drancy to Auschwitz Death Camp in Poland on May 30, 1944, where he was murdered. Hans was 10 years old.

Alfred was smuggled into Switzerland and survived the war. He was able to immigrate to the US. Alfred’s immigration card showed that Hans had also been accepted by the US, but it was too late to save him.

Jews first came to Vienna from Germany in the 12th century. During the 19th century, Vienna became a hub for Jewish authors and intellectuals, and by 1923, the local Jewish community had grown to nearly 200,000, third largest in all of Europe. Vienna’s Jewish community maintained 60 synagogues, a vast educational network, and a variety of social action institutions. It was also in Vienna that Theodore Herzl established the first headquarters of the Zionist movement. At the same time, however, Vienna was a center of popular antisemitism. At the turn of the century, Karl Lueger was elected mayor on a platform espousing anti-Jewish views. Nevertheless, the Jewish community, among the most sophisticated throughout Europe, continued to thrive.