Rudy Appel papers

Rudolf (Rudi) Appel (later Rudy, 1925-2016) was born in Mannheim, Germany, to Julius (1881-1952) and Rose (or Rosa, nee Hofmann, later Strauss,1895-1974) Appel. He had one older brother, Martin (1922-2005). The family lived in Mannheim, Julius worked as a legal professional, and Rudi attended gymnasium. On November 9 and 10, 1938, German officials instigated pogroms of violence and destruction against Jews and their property, known as Kristallnacht. During the pogroms, 30,000 Jewish men were also incarcerated in German concentration camps and held unless they promised to leave Germany. Julius was among the men imprisoned and arrived in Dachau concentration camp on November 11. On November 15, the Nazis banned Jewish students from public schools, so Rudi began attending a Jewish school in Mannheim. At the end of November, Martin left Europe and immigrated to the United States, joining Julius’ brother, Ernst, who lived in New York City. Upon Julius’ release from Dachau, he also left Germany and arrived in New York City on January 18, 1939. Julius joined Martin, who had moved to Philadelphia. That same year, Rose fled to Belgium. Rudi was sent to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for safety and where he could attend gymnasium.

In May and June of 1940, Germany invaded and occupied the Low Countries of Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as France. Rudi was smuggled over the border and joined his mother in Belgium. Rudi and Rose then crossed into Nazi-occupied France, heading towards Marseille on the southern coast. While attempting to cross into un-occupied territory, they were arrested near Angouleme and sent to Rivesaltes internment camp. On August 26, 1942, Rudi was transferred to Camp Les Milles near Marseille. That summer, the French, collaborationist Vichy government began handing over Jews in the camps to the Nazis. During the daily selection on September 1, Rudi decided to join the selected group, even though his name was not called. The group Rudi was supposed to have been in was sent to Drancy transit camp, and eventually went to Auschwitz killing center in German-occupied Poland. Instead, Rudi ended up back in Rivesaltes.

In September 1942, Rudi was among a group of children escorted by Friedel Reiter (later Bohny-Reiter) to Le Chambon sur Lignon, a Protestant village in unoccupied France. In Chambon, Rudi was placed in La Guespy, one of several children’s homes in the town operated by Secours Suisse aux Enfants (Swiss Society for Children’s Aid). La Guespy was directed by Juliette Usach, a doctor who fled to France during the Spanish Civil War. In November, Germany occupied the remainder of France, and Rose was sent to Gurs internment camp, where she worked in the Central Hospital. By the end of December, Rudi was among 23 children housed at Guespy. The children were able to resume schooling and lived in relative safety due to the entire town’s dedication to helping refugees. When roundups of Jews did occur, Rudi and the other children were hidden in the nearby woods. The children were encouraged to attend religious services, and Juliette consciously cultivated an atmosphere of religious tolerance and encouraged collective participation in both Jewish and non-Jewish holidays. While in Chambon and Gurs, Rudi and Rose were both able to exchange letters with Julius and Martin through the Red Cross.

On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy, beginning the liberation of France. The region surrounding Chambon was liberated by the Free French First Armored Division on September 2-3. After the war, Rudi was reunited with his mother and in November1946 they immigrated to the United States, where Rudi Americanized his name to Rudy. Rose and Julius divorced in 1949, and that same year, Rose remarried to Dr. Alfred Strauss and moved to New York City. Rudy began an export business. In April 1962, Rudy married Susanne Ahr (b. 1928), a Berlin native who fled to Iraq in 1935, and then Uganda in 1941 where she was imprisoned as an enemy alien until 1945. Rudy became stepfather to her daughter. Rudy and Susanne had another daughter in 1964. After the end of the Soviet era, Rudy became dedicated to helping Jews get out of the USSR.