Stories Survive: Erika Hecht

Growing up in Hungary during the Holocaust, Erika Hecht was a “hidden child,” one of many Jewish children who were provided with false identities and survived the war as Christians. But when the village where they were hiding became a battlefield between the German and Soviet armies, Erika and her mother were forced to flee, hiding in damp cellars, seeking shelter on the porch of a house occupied by soldiers, and living in mountainside caves. It wasn’t until many years after the war that Erika reconnected with her Jewish identity.

Erika’s harrowing story is the subject of her new memoir Don’t Ask My Name: A Hidden Child’s Tale of Survival, published by East End Press in June 2021.

Join the Museum of Jewish Heritage for a program exploring Erika’s experiences during the Holocaust and her struggle with identity, reinvention, and resilience. She will be interviewed by the Museum’s Senior Public Programs Producer Ari Goldstein.

Register here.

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Public programming at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act; and other generous donors.