Susanne Weiss Goldsmith Was Part of “Kindertransport” Rescue Mission
Sacramento, CA – Assemblyman Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) honored Susanne Weiss Goldsmith today as part of the Assembly’s annual observance of California Holocaust Remembrance Week. Weiss Goldsmith was part of the Kindertransport, a mission that rescued 10,000 predominantly Jewish children and placed them in foster homes in Great Britain.
“Susanne’s inspiring journey exemplifies the resiliency of the human spirit and what we can achieve when banding together,” Rendon said. “We have a duty to remember the Holocaust and renew our commitment to stand up against injustice in any form.”
Following the violence of Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, the British government eased immigration restrictions for Jewish refugees and agreed to permit children to enter the country from Germany and German-annexed territories. Private citizens or organizations paid for each child's care, education, and eventual emigration from Britain in exchange for the government issuing temporary travel visas to the children. Parents or guardians could not accompany the children.
Weiss Goldsmith was seven years old in 1938 when she and her brother Peter were brought to London, where they lived for a year and a half before being reunited with their parents. Just five percent of the 10,000 children of the Kindertransport were ultimately reunited with their parents.
The Weiss family immigrated to the United States in 1940, first to New York and then to San Francisco. Weiss Goldsmith earned her undergraduate degree in social work from San Francisco State University and went on to have an extensive career in social work and early childhood education, including serving as director of a nursery school.
Weiss Goldsmith was married for 57 years to Walter Goldsmith, a fellow Holocaust survivor, before he passed away in 2000. She is the mother of three children, Ellen, Robert, and Laura. Weiss Goldsmith is a member of Congregation Shir Chadash in Lakewood.
Assemblyman Anthony Rendon is serving in his second term representing the 63rd Assembly District, which includes the cities and communities of Bell, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, North Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, and South Gate. Rendon is chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and serves on the following committees: Water, Parks and Wildlife; Natural Resources; Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security; and Appropriations.
Attachments:
Photo of Weiss Goldsmith in 1938
Photo of Weiss Goldsmith in 2015