Tech Topics - Summer 2008 - (Page 16) LivingHistory Spain was full of Nazi espionage. They were there for one reason only: to try to catch Jews who were trying to escape Europe.” Hirsch said they traveled into Portugal and from there sailed across the Atlantic. “We got to New York on Labor Day 1941. By that time, my two brothers had settled in Atlanta, Georgia.” Although they were in the same state as a relative, the uncle could not take in five children. The Hirsches were divided, the boys in one foster home, the girls in another. But they were safe. “It was 1947 when my brother Asher was in the United States Army and he went over to Europe and he started searching” for their father, mother, little brother and baby sister, Hirsch said. “In the case of my father, we know the date of his death. He was killed in Auschwitz on November 5, 1942. But as far as my mother and sister and brother, they were seen going into the gas chamber by my uncle … but there’s no date. He was an inmate at Auschwitz himself. He had no concept of time.” Hirsch enrolled at Tech for the winter quarter of 1952. During summer school in 1953, he concluded “ I was 6 years old. I was standing there with my older cousin and we watched as these hoodlums went in and out of the (synagogue) with Molotov cocktails. They took out the holy scrolls of the Torah and pierced them on the pickets of a fence. I was a little boy, but it stayed with me. Many people have said that maybe my desire to design synagogues came from that. ” he would no longer have to work full time at Rich’s and juggle a full course load if he joined the Army and returned to Tech on the GI Bill. He was determined that the Army could get him back to Germany. “I never did accept the fact that my brother and sister were dead, even though I was told that they had died. In my mind, they were babies and who kills babies? I found out there are people who kill babies,” Hirsch said. He was stationed in Georgia, Arkansas and Washington state before he finally finagled his way into a transfer to Germany. “I found out very quickly that I was on a wild goose chase,” said Hirsch, who sadly learned the same information about the fate of his parents and siblings that his brother had been given. He returned to Tech in 1955 “a different person completely.” In 1964, Hirsch the architect read that the design for an Atlanta memorial to the Holocaust victims would be approved after a public meeting. “I sat there and listened to the presentation. They had a drawing there that … was a 6-foot-wide white marble tombstone with the number 6 million engraved in it and a sixstemmed candelabra on top of it.” After the meeting, Hirsch approached the design committee. “I am an architect, and I am a survivor of the Holocaust,” he told them. “I have something in my mind that I want to share with you that I think will be a lot more appropriate.” The design approval process was in its final stages. Hirsch would have to present his idea quickly if he wanted it to be considered. “Overnight I came up with a design. I was so energized I couldn’t sleep,” he said of the Memorial to the Six Million, which won a national design award after it was built in 1965. “I was 32 years old when it was completed and dedicated. I looked in the mirror and said, ‘OK, what are you going to do next?’ Then I set my sights on finding a synagogue to do,” said Hirsch, who has designed some 30 Jewish temples as well as a number of Christian churches. Hirsch also began talking to school groups about the Holocaust and designed a permanent gallery for The Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta that was completed in 1996 prior to the Summer Olympic Games. He began to listen to those around him who urged him to write down his life’s story. He wasn’t there to see the plaque placed to mark the memorial as a historic place. Hirsch, who has four children, 23 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, was in New York for a family wedding. But he will see it before he’s gone. GT Attention New Parents . . . and grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and friends! The Georgia Tech Alumni Association invites you to enroll your child in the Tradition Gets a New Attitude Introducing the New Collector’s Edition Ramblin’ Wreck Do not miss this chance to own your own piece of Georgia Tech history. This brand-new edition of our 1930 Model A Ramblin’ Wreck has been completely recast with a new sleek convertible design. Also a shiny new spare tire graces the right side. This is a great gift for every Tech fan — and perfect for any occasion. Baby Buzz Club All members will receive Canvas Bag • Buzz Hooded Towel • Buzz Rattle Buzz Bib • Sipper Cup Enroll by returning the order form and your check for $39.95 + 8% tax ($3.20) (in Georgia only) and $6 for shipping and handling made payable to Georgia Tech Alumni Association 190 North Avenue • Atlanta, GA 30313 Visa Mastercard Discover Amex 16 TECHTOPICS | SUMMER 2008
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