Harry Gluckman — his family made epic escape from Nazis
Harry Gluckman was 10 years old when he made the voyage that saved his life.
He and his parents escaped from Nazi Germany on a circuitous route that took him from Europe to the U. S. the long way, across Asia and the Pacific, which was the only way left at the time.
In 1940, Gluckman, who died this month in Oakland, and his parents, Walter and Alice, knew that dark days lay ahead for Jewish citizens of Germany. They paid bribes to secure exit visas, boarded a train from Berlin across Eastern Europe, another train across Russia, then overland through Manchuria and Korea and then by boat to Japan, and another boat to San Francisco.
Along the way, Gluckman scrambled to find food for himself and his parents and to endear himself, as 10- year- olds can do, with fellow travelers. Like other Jewish children of the Holocaust, his childhood did not last long. On the first leg of the journey, young Harry watched in terror as a German soldier interrogated his father at gunpoint, according to Gluckman’s son, Larry, who heard the story many times.
But unlike the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who remained behind in Germany and perished in the Holocaust, Gluckman and his parents survived. He lived a long life and died May 1 in an Oakland hospital after a brief illness. He was 88 and a resident of Alameda.
Arriving in San Francisco after the monthslong journey, Gluckman and his parents found normalcy, something lacking in Europe. Gluckman graduated from Lowell High School, married his high school sweetheart, Jeanette, sold newspapers and found work as a traveling salesman of business machines.
He also worked for Jewish foundations, sold Israel bonds and operated a mail store South of Market.
He never tired of telling the story of his journey, a tale that so captivated his son, Ron, that in 1990 he was moved to re- create the entire trip from Germany to the U. S., traveling on the same route as his father and grandparents, but without having to look over his shoulder on German trains or cross the Pacific below decks in steerage.
In later years, Gluckman often spoke to Bay Area school groups about the Holocaust and his experiences. He also took up landscape painting and visited Israel a dozen times, bringing his paints and brushes with him. He also founded and served as president of a local branch of the B’nai B’rith, the Jewish social organization.
“There was always a sadness when he told the story of his escape, and there were tears for the family members who did not survive,” Larry Gluckman said. “My father wanted everyone to know what happened.”
Gluckman’s first wife, Jeanette, died in 1997 after 47 years of marriage. He is survived by wife, Doris WeinerGluckman, of Alameda; and children, Judy Guzman of Union City, Larry of Ukiah ( Mendocino County), and Ron of Bangkok; five grandchildren; and 10 greatgrandchildren.
A memorial service has been held, in Colma.