Jul 17, 2019

Manny Mandel

Holocaust Survivor

Emanuel “Manny” Mandel was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1936, the year in which his parents returned to their native Hungary. Manny’s father had been selected to become one of the Chief Cantors of the Budapest. As a five year old child Manny witnessed his first Holocaust experience, the Novi Sad Razia in the winter of 1941, while on vacation at his Mother’s home town. Although he understood little at that time, he has remarkable recall of the events of the day when 1,250 Jews, among some 4,000 people, were shot and cast into the frozen Danube .The Numerus Clausus were developed in Hungary in the 1920’s. In the late 1930’s the Hungarian version of the Nuremberg laws of 1933 were applied with ferocity. Manny’s Father’s conscription into the forced labor camp battalions, the nightly air raids and bombings, the yellow star and other depravities made a significant impact on him. When Adolf Eichmann arrived in Budapest in March, 1944, deportations in Hungary, the last country to be made Judenrein began at the rate of 12.000 per day. The Blut fur Ware barter proposal between Eichmann and Reszo Kasztner culminated in the transport of about 1,700 Jews , including Manny and his Mother to what they though was freedom in Palestine. The transport brought them to Bergen Belsen, delaying their freedom for almost half a year. Nevertheless, the barter arrangement, one of several, was consummated and Manny and his Mother were taken to Switzerland. They spent a year in a displaced children’s home in Heiden and then finally were able to travel to their original destination. One year in a kibbutz and three years in Haifa reunited Manny with his Mother and Father. Manny emigrated to the U.S. in 1949.

High School, Gratz College, Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Work, all in Philadelphia, prepared Manny for the human services field. He has practiced psychotherapy for over 30 years. A Governor’s appointment placed him on the Board of Social Work Examiners, the State Licensing Agency, where he served for eight years including two years as Chair. Adjunct appointments were held at Gallaudet, Michigan, Maryland and Penn.

Manny lives in Montgomery county with his wife Adrienne, a former three term State Legislator. They have a daughter, a son and three grandchildren.

Note: This program was rescheduled from a planned February date due to inclement weather.