Hidden child lives to tell tale

by Heather Burnham
EAST LIVERPOOL - Herbert Hochhauser shared his experience of life in Germany during Hitler's reign in the 1930's Tuesday in the quiet study lounge.

From the age of 5 he lived a very scary and confusing life. His father spent three and a half years in Schauenburg, a concentration camp, and his mother was sent to one in Zurich.

He was a hidden child; the Salvation Army and the Quakers smuggled him on foot from Germany to Switzerland Hochhauser was moved in and out of several different orphanages. In 1941, he lived in an orphanage on the Swiss and French border.

He befriended a little girl named Danielle when he was 6 and she was 5. The Salvation Army took 20 children that night and moved them by bicycle up a mountain. Danielle was one of them, but Hochhauser's friend for life didn't make the whole trip. The man helping her up the hill stepped on a land mine. The only thing left of them was bits and pieces of flesh. After this unfortunate episode, he was left in a French home until it was safe to return back to another orphanage.

By the time Hochhauser was reunited with his parents, he trusted no one. His parents decided to take him to the United States where they would have better opportunities. Since he's been in America, Herbert Hochhauser has been a very lucky man. He went to high school in Cleveland, then headed to Athens, Ohio to study at Ohio University, where he graduated in 1960.

To this day, Hochhauser carries around fears from the past. He overstocks his pantry so he'll never to go hungry again, owns over 100 shirts , and still sits in the aisle seat at movie theatres in case there is a raid and he needs to get out fast.

Despite all of that, he has managed a successful career out of sharing his story through lectures, teaching and Emmy Award winning documentaries.
Hochhauser says" I owe my life to two organizations: the Salvation Army and the Quakers. I will never pass by a red kettle and not put money in it."

His latest documentary, "Both Sides of the Fence" will air May 8 on PBS at 8 p.m.