Judith Köppel / Judith Steel (F / Germany, 1938), Holocaust survivor
Judith Köppel / Judith Steel (F / Germany, 1938), Holocaust survivor
- KEYWORDS : <Refugees> <MS St. Louis> <France> <Gurs> <Hidden Children> -- <United States>
Biography
Judith Koeppel (Steel) was born Feb 19, 1938 in Berlin, Germany, to Josef Koeppel and Irmgard Weissenberg Koeppel. In 1939 they were among the passengers of the MS St. Louis. They disembarked in France. After the German occupation, the family was interned at Gurs. After three weeks, the OSE took Judith from the camp. The parents perished at Auschwitz. Judith survived as a hidden child. After the war she moved to America.
USHMM
Judith Steel (born Judith Koeppel) is the daughter of Josef Koeppel and Irmgard Weissenberg Koeppel. Judith was born in 1938 in Berlin where her father was a fur dealer and her mother was a milliner. When she was just 14 months old Judith sailed, along with her parents and grandfather Jakob Koeppel, on the St. Louis for Cuba. After the ship was forced to return to Europe, the family was sent to France. There they rented an apartment in the home of Joseph and Eliette Carapezzi Enard in Nay, a small town in southern France. Judith became friendly with Eliette and her daughter Suzy. One day in 1942, French gendarmes arrived at the home, arrested the Koeppels, and sent them to Gurs. Jakob, who was sickly and confined to bed, remained behind. After three weeks, Josef and Irmgard said goodbye to Judith, and the OSE took her from the camp. Joseph and Irmgard were transferred to Rivesaltes, taken to Drancy and then sent to Auschwitz in September 1942. After bringing her out of Gurs, the OSE sent Judith back to the Enard family where she was reunited with her grandfather. For the next four years, Judith lived with the Enards as their daughter. She attended school and church using their last name. While with the Enards, her grandfather died of a stroke. After the war ended, Judith learned that five other Jews had been living in the house, hiding in the attic. In 1946, after receiving confirmation that her parents both had perished in Auschwitz, Judith was sent to the United States where she was adopted by her aunt and uncle Martin and Rachel Koppel in New York. In June 1992 Joseph and Eliette Enard were recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.