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Natalie Weinstein-Gold
Natalie was born on July 26, 1940 in a Polish Ghetto called Radzimin. She was probably the only surviving child in this town, as about 14,000 to 16,000 Jews were taken from Radzimin to Treblinka on the day of Simchat Torah, 1942. Fearing immediate death, Natalie and her parents escaped the Ghetto, and went from one place to another hiding from the Nazi's. As options began to disappear, Natalie's parents realized there was only one option left to save her life, and that was to abandon her. They dressed her in a warm coat, put a cross around her neck, and a sign which indicated she was a child of a war widow who was no longer able to feed her. They left her on the doorstep of a police station and hid in a doorway until a man came to pick her up.
Shortly thereafter, Natalie's parents had to split apart as well. Four and 1/2 years later, when the war ended, Leon, Natalie's father, located her at a Catholic convent. The following years were difficult despite being reunited with her father. Natalie was deeply confused as to her identity, being raised in a Catholic environment during her formative years, yet now receiving an immense amount of love from her father who had survived the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
In 1947, Natalie moved with her parents (her father remarried) to France. Natalie furthered her identification as a Jew by joining a Zionist organization called Hasher, and dreamed of going to Israel to live on a Kibbutz. Her father though would not allow it, and ultimately, the family moved to the United States.
In 1961, Natalie married a second generation American man from Kentucky. His name was Alan Gold. She had two children in quick succession. Natalie has since become a Psychotherapist., and is a member of the Survivor group entitled "The 1939 Club". In 1990, she became Bat Mitzvah, with 6 other childhood survivors. This solidified her full commitment to Judaism. Today, she lives with an enormous sense of responsibility in order to make sure her lucky survival counts. Natalie wants to make sure the dead are not forgotten, and she works toward creating aworld in which there will no longer be children who lose everything to which a child is entitled.
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