Email from Roger Fajnzylberg (OSE) to Jean J. McIntyre regarding OSE Centenary and request for message from Elie Wiesel

This is a personal letter from Louie Freeh, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to Professor Elie Wiesel, dated November 14, 1995. In the letter, Freeh thanks Wiesel for an autographed copy of his new book, 'Memoirs; All Rivers Run to the Sea,' and expresses his anticipation of reading it. He praises Wiesel's courage and strength, stating that Wiesel is an inspiration and that he is honored to call him a friend. The letter concludes with warm regards and wishes for Wiesel's continued health, happiness, and success.

Agnes Adachi, nee Mandl, was born in l9l8 in Budapest. She was the only child in a minimally observant Jewish family. She attended a Reformed Church school, where she received some Hebrew instruction. In l943, prior to the German invasion, she was baptized by a Reformed Church pastor to save her from deportation. Her father was taken away by the Hungarian Arrow Cross and his Christian partner in a textile stored appropriated the business. Agnes was given asylum in the Swedish Embassy together with many other refugees and helped in the distribution of Schutzpasseswith Raoul Wallenberg. She describes Wallenberg’s wit and daring in dealing with Arrow Cross and German officers. She credits the Swiss Red Cross as well as the Swedish Red Cross for their aid. In l945, after the war ended, she was in Sweden, where she worked with Count Bernadotte as a teacher of refugees. Her memoir is Child of the Winds: My Mission with Raoul Wallenberg, Chicago: Adams Press, l989.

Steffi Schwarcz, néeBirnbaum, was born March 17, 1928 in Berlin, Germany. She was sent to England on March 15, 1939as part of the Kindertransport, with her younger sister and 11 other children. This group was sponsored by Dr. Schlesinger, an English Jew. She briefly mentions her early life, Kristallnacht, and thegeneral atmosphere in Berlin. Steffi describes leaving her parents and the journey to England. The children were put up in a hostel in Shepherd's Hill, Highgate. In September 1939, thechildren were evacuated and dispersed. Steffi and her sister were sent to the home of a young Christian couple in Cuffley, Middlesex. She contrasts the respectful attitude of the foster parents with the pressure to convert put on the Jewish children by the headmistress of the KingsleyBoarding School in Cornwall, run by the Church of England, where the sisters were sent in January 1940, by the Jewish Refugee Committee. A local woman intervened on behalf of Jewish children in boarding schools. She enabled them to remain Jewish, observe the Jewish holidays in her home, and to get a Jewish education. Steffi mentions that Jewish girls older than 16 were sent to the Isle of Man as enemy aliens. Steffi discusses in detail the long-term emotional effects of the Nazi era and the stay in English boarding schools on herself and her sister. She now lives in Israel with her husband and daughter.

A black and white portrait photograph of a man identified as Elie Wiesel, showing his head and upper torso. He has a thoughtful expression, with wrinkles visible on his forehead and around his eyes. He is wearing a suit jacket and a striped tie, suggesting a formal or semi-formal setting. The lighting highlights the contours of his face, with a darker background.

This document is a short, handwritten letter of gratitude from Elie Wiesel, written on the letterhead of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. Dated August 1, 2010, the letter is addressed to "Monsieur Migiovanni". In the note, Wiesel expresses profound thanks to Migiovanni for the significant assistance provided to his sister, Hilda. He concludes by stating his lasting recognition and gratitude for this help.