Noémi Ban
Encyclopedia
Noémi Ban née Schönberger, is a Hungarian
-born American Jew and survivor of the Holocaust
. Today she is a Golden Apple Award
-winning lecturer
, public speaker, and teacher residing in Whatcom County, Washington
.
, Hungary
. She was the eldest of three children, followed by her sister Erzsébet and brother Gábor.
During Operation Margarethe
, the German invasion and occupation of Hungary, Samu was sent to a labor camp
while she, Erzsébet, Gábor, Juliska, her grandmother Nina, and eleven other relatives were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
, arriving on July 1, 1944. All of Ban's family members in Auschwitz were killed, but Ban herself was transferred by Dr. Josef Mengele
to the Buchenwald concentration camp
to work in a bomb factory, where she intentionally constructed faulty bombs.
On April 15, 1945, the campmates of Buchenwald were forced to march to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
. On the way, Ban and eleven of her campmates escaped and were discovered by the U.S. Army, who had just liberated the Bergen-Belsen camp.
Ban returned to Budapest
, Hungary
, in September 1945, where she reunited with her father, Samu (who later changed his surname to Gábor in honor of his deceased son). That October she married a Budapester teacher, Bán Ernő (later Earnest Ban).
After the Communist occupation and takeover of Hungary between 1947 and 1948, Ban became a 7th and 8th grade teacher herself. Suffering from Soviet oppression, Ban, Earnest, and their two sons, István (Steven) and György (George), tried to escape to Austria, but were stopped on a train crossing the border. On December 29, 1956, less than a month later, the Bans again tried to cross, this time hidden in a shipment of giant balls of yarn. The attempt succeeded and they ended up in Sopron
, Austria
.
. She and Earnest learned English and earned degrees in education. Their son Steven moved to Bellingham, Washington
, prompting Noémi and Earnest to move in 1982. In 1994, Earnest died of Alzheimer's disease
.
After Earnest's death, Ban became a public Holocaust speaker, giving lectures nationally and internationally (in Hungary and Taipei
, Taiwan
). In 1998 she received the Golden Apple Award
. In 2003 she wrote Sharing Is Healing: A Holocaust Survivor's Story, an autobiography of her experiences during the Holocaust and as a public speaker. In 2007 her life was made into the documentary film My Name Is Noémi.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-born American Jew and survivor of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. Today she is a Golden Apple Award
Golden Apple Award (education)
The Golden Apple Award is an award given to educators in various school districts in the United States. The name of the award refers to the stereotype of students giving apples to teachers they respect.-Georgia:...
-winning lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
, public speaker, and teacher residing in Whatcom County, Washington
Whatcom County, Washington
Whatcom County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. Its name ultimately derives from the Lummi word Xwotʼqom, meaning "noisy water." As of 2010, the population was 201,140. The county seat is at Bellingham, which is also the county's largest city...
.
The Holocaust
Ban was born Schönberger Noémi (sometimes rendered Schoenberger) to Schönberger Samu and Schönberger Juliska in SzegedSzeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. She was the eldest of three children, followed by her sister Erzsébet and brother Gábor.
During Operation Margarethe
Operation Margarethe
During World War II, the Germans planned two discrete operations using the codename Margarethe.Operation Margarethe I was the occupation of Hungary by German forces on 19 March 1944. The Hungarian government was an ally of Nazi Germany, but had been discussing an armistice with the Allies...
, the German invasion and occupation of Hungary, Samu was sent to a labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
while she, Erzsébet, Gábor, Juliska, her grandmother Nina, and eleven other relatives were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
, arriving on July 1, 1944. All of Ban's family members in Auschwitz were killed, but Ban herself was transferred by Dr. Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
to the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
to work in a bomb factory, where she intentionally constructed faulty bombs.
On April 15, 1945, the campmates of Buchenwald were forced to march to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
. On the way, Ban and eleven of her campmates escaped and were discovered by the U.S. Army, who had just liberated the Bergen-Belsen camp.
Ban returned to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, in September 1945, where she reunited with her father, Samu (who later changed his surname to Gábor in honor of his deceased son). That October she married a Budapester teacher, Bán Ernő (later Earnest Ban).
After the Communist occupation and takeover of Hungary between 1947 and 1948, Ban became a 7th and 8th grade teacher herself. Suffering from Soviet oppression, Ban, Earnest, and their two sons, István (Steven) and György (George), tried to escape to Austria, but were stopped on a train crossing the border. On December 29, 1956, less than a month later, the Bans again tried to cross, this time hidden in a shipment of giant balls of yarn. The attempt succeeded and they ended up in Sopron
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
America
In 1957, Noémi and her family moved to St. Louis, MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. She and Earnest learned English and earned degrees in education. Their son Steven moved to Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, prompting Noémi and Earnest to move in 1982. In 1994, Earnest died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.
After Earnest's death, Ban became a public Holocaust speaker, giving lectures nationally and internationally (in Hungary and Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
). In 1998 she received the Golden Apple Award
Golden Apple Award (education)
The Golden Apple Award is an award given to educators in various school districts in the United States. The name of the award refers to the stereotype of students giving apples to teachers they respect.-Georgia:...
. In 2003 she wrote Sharing Is Healing: A Holocaust Survivor's Story, an autobiography of her experiences during the Holocaust and as a public speaker. In 2007 her life was made into the documentary film My Name Is Noémi.