Photos - Hedy Epstein

Life in Kippenheim

Hedy Epstein's maternal grandmother Betty Eichel, portrait of a middle-aged woman with dark upswept hair and dark eyes. She is looking straight ahead. She is wearing a necklace and earrings.

Hedy's maternal grandmother, Betty Eichel (Maizen), 1923

A portrait of Hedy Epstein's maternal grandfather, a middle-aged man with a small mustache, wire-rimmed oval glasses, balding, wearing a suit and tie.

Hedy's maternal grandfather Heinrich Eichel, 1923

Black and white photo of a young woman, seated, wearing a dark dress with a long necklace

Ella Eichel engagement photo, 1921

Black and white photo, Ella and Hugh side-by-side, close together, Ella's hand on Hugo's shoulder, Hugo wears a suit, Ella wears a nice dress.

Hedy's parents Hugo and Ella Eichel Wachenheimer, Newlyweds, Kippenheim, 1922

An infant child with a questioning expression lying in a fuzzy blanket

Infant Hedy

Black and white photo of Ella Eichel as a young woman, she has dark hair, she is standing with her arms down and hands clasped loosely in front, she is wearing a light colored dress and a necklace, she is looking straight ahead.

Ella Eichel, Before 1922

Black and white formal portrait of a man with round wire-rim glasses, a serious expression, wearing a tweed suit with a vest, tie, striped light-colored shirt, and a handkerchief in his breast pocket

Hedy's father Hugo Wachenheimer, Kippenheim, 1922

Black and white photo of a smiling child wearing a dress, she is sitting outside in a slatted chair holding a stuffed teddy bear.

Five-year-old Hedy sitting in Grandmother Lina Wachenheimer's backyard, Kippenheim, May 1930

Jewish Children in Kippenheim, Hedy is in the third row, third from the right, 1936

Hedy Epstein, 6 years old, standing in front of a table with family members. They are outside in their garden.

Standing Oskar and Hugo Wachenheimer; sitting left to right Sophie Wachenheimer Strauss, Kaethe Ehrlich Wachenheimer, Ella Eichel Wachenheimer, Lina Wachenheimer, Hedy, 6 years old, standing in front

A smiling baby with short dark hair, wearing a dress, standing up, looking straight ahead

Hedy, 3 years old, 1927

Black and white photo of a child, she is standing on a chair, smiling, wearing a dress and black buckle shoes.

Hedy, 4 years old, wearing a pink taffeta dress, Kippenheim, 1928

Black and white photo of a couple standing behind their seated 12 year old daughter, they are outside standing in front of the back of a building

Ella, Hugo and Hedy Wachenheimer; in the background are the offices of the Wachenheimer business in Kippenheim, Germany, August 1937

Black and white photo of an elderly gentleman standing with his arm around a young girl, he is wearing a dark suit, she is wearing a dark dress with a white collar and a polka-dot bow, their expressions are solemn

Hedy with her grandfather Heinrich Eichel, taken a few days before Hedy left on the Kindertransport, May 1939

Black and white photo of an elderly gentleman seated wearing a suit holding his hat in his lap, standing behind him are his 13 year old granddaughter, three adult children, a daughter-in-law and son-in-law

Heinrich Eichel, Hedy's grandfather seated, back row Elsa Ehrlich Eichel, her husband Manfred Eichel, Max Eichel, front row Hedy, age 13, Ella and Hugh Wachenheimer, Kippenheim, October 1937

Black and white photo of an elderly couple seated outside on a bench, both smiling, she is wearing a plaid blouse and a dark floor-length skirt, her hands are resting in her lap, he is wearing a dark overcoat with his arm intertwined with hers.

Heinrika Eppstein Wachenheimer and Heinrich Wachenheimer, Hedy's great-grandparents, on their 50th wedding anniversary, Kippenheim, Germany, 1910

Elderly woman on the left, twelve year old girl in the middle and her mother to the right. They are standing in front of an external stair with their arms intertwined.

Twelve-year-old Hedy with her grandmother Lina Wachenheimer and her mother Ella Wachenheimer, 1936

Black and white photo of a 14 year old girl dressed in a white blouse, dark cardigan and skirt, standing in a yard next to a church with a stained glass window

Hedy the day before leaving Germany on the Kindertransport, age 14, May 17, 1939

Photo of three story home with 4 windows with shutters on both the first and second floors and three gables with windows on the third floor.

The house on Vahnhofstrasse, far left, where Hedy lived with her parents in Kippenheim prior to leaving Germany, taken when Hedy returned to Germany after WWII, summer, 1947

Black and white photo of a woman and man standing outside in a yard. Her arm is intertwined with his arm. She is wearing a dress, he is wearing a suit and tie.

Ella and Hugo Wachenheimer a few days after Hedy left for London, England at the home of Max and Paula Eichel near Frankfurt, Germany, 1939

Black and white photo of parents standing behind their seated 12 year old daughter, the father is wearing a dark suit, the mother is wearing a dark dress, the daughter is wearing a printed dress.

Hugo, Ella and Hedy Wachenheimer, Kippenheim, Germany, Fall 1937

A black and white passport photo of a young girl with short dark hair looking straight ahead, slight smile

Hedy's passport photo taken shortly prior to leaving Kippenheim on the Kindertransport

Black and white photo of an elderly woman standing outside

Lina Weissmann Wachenheimer, Hedy's grandmother, mid-1930's

An elderly gentleman seated with hands folded in front of his adult children; the three men are wearing suits and ties, the woman standing in the middle is wearing a dress

Heinrich Eichel (seated) with his three children, left to right, Max Eichel, Ella Eichel Wachenheimer, Manfred Eichel, taken in Kippenheim, October, 1937

A group photo of thirteen family members surrounding a seated elderly woman in a backyard

Lina Weissmann Wachenheimer, Hedy's grandmother, celebrating her 75th birthday; Hedy is third from the right, Kippenheim, 1937

Black and white photo, couple is seated side by side, they are outdoors on a bench in front of a small window.

Hedy's grandparents Lina Weissmann Wachenheimer and her husband Max Wachenheimer, Kippenheim, pre-1925

Interior of a synagogue destroyed during Kristallnacht, furniture and light fixtures broken and heaped in piles in the center of the floor

Destruction of the Kippenheim Synagogue, Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938

Inmates, some seated, most standing, are outside, in front of a wooden building.

Group portrait of Jewish inmates in the Gurs internment camp taken on the occasion of the golden wedding anniverary of Julius and Emma Wachenheimer, Julius was the brother of Max, Hedy's Grandfather. Hedy's grandmother, Lina Wachenheimer, is in the front on the far right. Hugh and Ella Wachenheimer, Hedy's parents, are in the very back on the far right. Hugo's brother, Oskar, and his wife, Kathe, are in the back on the far left. Camp de Gurs, France, December 1940

Second from left, the dry goods business and home of Max and Lina Wachenheimer and where Hedy and her parents lived until moving to Vahnhofstrasse, Kippenheim, taken when Hedy returned to Germany, summer 1947

Seeking Peace in Palestine

Hedy Epstein standing between Jeff Halper and Salim Shawamreh in front of an Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition mural. The Shawamreh home was demolished by Israeli authorities several times for building without a permit on land they owned. Building permit applications were routinely denied. Anata, West Bank, December 2003.

Hedy Epstein holding a sign "USA Jew Against Occupation" participating in a Women in Black Demonstration. Jerusalem, 2003

Hedy Epstein participating in a Women in Black Demonstration. Jerusalem, December 2003

Hedy Epstein standing in front of the 25' concrete separation wall in Qalqilya West Bank. Hedy looks very small compared to the full height of the wall. There is graffiti and a large Palestinian flag painted on the wall.

Hedy Epstein at the Qalqilya separation wall. December, 2003.

Hedy Epstein in a brown winter coat and gray woolen cap sitting around a fire with Palestinian farmers. The separation fence is in the background. The farmers are waiting to see if the gate will be opened by Israeli soldiers so they can access their agricultural fields.

Hedy with Palestinian farmers. The separation fence is in the background. The farmers are waiting to see if the gate will be opened by Israeli soldiers so the farmers could access their agricultural fields located on the other side of the barrier. Jayyous, West Bank, December, 2003

Hedy Epstein standing with a sign that says "Yes to Peace No to Settlements" during a demonstration against the occupation of Palestine.

Hedy Epstein at a demonstration in the occupied West Bank near one of the large settlement communities. December 2003.

Hedy Epstein seated with a group of boys and young men and her travel companions in front of the 25' concrete separation wall in Qalqilya, West Bank

Hedy Epstein with travel companions and boys from the village in Qalqilya, West Bank, December 2003

Hedy Epstein in a brown winter coat and scarf with hands in her pockets standing in front of the 25' concrete separation wall in Qalqilya, West Bank. The wall is covered with graffiti, Tear Down This Wall, Free Palestine.

Hedy Epstein stands in front of the separation wall in Qalqilya, West Bank, Palestine, December 2003

Hedy Epstein at the Memorial for the Deportation of Jews from France where she found the images of the Nazi documentation of her parents deportation to Auschwitz. Near the city of Beit Shemesh, Israel, December, 2003.

Hedy Epstein smiling as The Audacity of Hope leaves port as part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Greece, 2011.

Hedy Epstein in a gray baseball cap with WCA printed in red, a blue button up shirt, and a red bandana across her nose and mouth. She is holding a spent tear gas container.

Hedy Epstein protesting in the West Bank village of Bil'in. She is wearing a bandana across her nose and mouth because tear gas and sound bombs were dispersed by the Israeli military. Hedy joined their weekly vigil against the separation wall. 2004

Hedy Epstein seated between two women with a crowd behind, fist raised, wearing a sign that says "Hunger Strike for Gaza."

Hedy Epstein with friends in Cairo, Egypt protesting the Egyptian government's decision to block the Gaza Freedom Marchers from entering Gaza through the Rafah Gate. 2009

Hedy Epstein standing in Bil'in, a village in the West Bank. An Israeli soldier is to her side and another is behind her. Palestinian women from the village are behind the soldiers.

Hedy Epstein joined women from Bil'in to protest the construction of the separation wall. Occupied West Bank, 2004.