Holocaust Survivor Robert May’s testimony, as told by his daughter Ann Mollengarden, will explore one family’s experience during the democratic Weimar Republic and the Nazi rise to power, culminating with the events of Kristallnacht. Ann explores one family’s experience from normalcy to exclusion. Listeners will gain an appreciation for the slow, insidious way that the Nazis gained power and how we must be alert to the warning signs of a diminishing democracy. With the support of family, a solid education, and hard work, Robert May not only survived but also found personal and professional success, and Ann shares the lessons he learned from survival to success.
Holocaust Survivor Robert May’s testimony, as told by his daughter Ann Mollengarden, will explore one family’s experience during the democratic Weimar Republic and the Nazi rise to power, culminating with the events of Kristallnacht. Ann explores one family’s experience from normalcy to exclusion. Listeners will gain an appreciation for the slow, insidious way that the Nazis gained power and how we must be alert to the warning signs of a diminishing democracy. With the support of family, a solid education, and hard work, Robert May not only survived but also found personal and professional success, and Ann shares the lessons he learned from survival to success.
Ann Mollengarden served as the Education Director of the Alabama Holocaust Education Center (AHEC) for 20 years—since its inception in 2002—and has served on the Alabama Holocaust Commission since 2009.
Today, Ann works as an Applied Researcher with the AHEC, developing the testimonies and archiving the histories of the almost 180 Holocaust survivors who made their home in Alabama. By reaching out to surviving family members and exploring national and international Holocaust archives, Ann tries to uncover histories that have long been forgotten.
As the daughter of Alabama Holocaust Survivor Robert May, Ann is also dedicated to sharing her father’s personal Holocaust history. Robert came from a proud German, Jewish family that lived in a small town outside of Frankfurt. When Hitler came to power, and Robert was in the third grade, his life changed abruptly. Over the next six years, Robert’s life became unbearable, and the family was forced to flee. His youth illustrates the insidious spread of Nazi ideology among friends and neighbors and the ultimate danger of inaction when a regime has gone awry.
Robert May survived because of the unwavering support provided by family, and that closeness remained a pillar of the life he created in the U.S.
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