Clara Isaacman (1921–2001)

Clara Isaacman, née Heller, was born in Borsa, Romania to a Jewish family. When she was a child, the family moved to Antwerp, Belgium. During Nazi Germany's occupation of the country in World War II, they attempted to flee, but failed. By then a teenager, Clara went into hiding in various locations with her mother, younger sister, and brother for two-and-a-half years. Her brother Herz was deported to Auschwitz in 1941. Her father ventured out to trade diamonds for bread and was picked up by the Nazis and murdered. They were liberated in Hoboken, Belgium by British troops in September 1944. In July 1945, Clara married Daniel Isaacman, a U.S. soldier stationed in Antwerp, and emigrated to the USA the following year. She wrote a book for young readers about her experiences called Clara's Story with Joan Adess Grossman, published in 1984. She became active in Holocaust education, speaking at universities such as Princeton, Penn State, Drexel, and Rutgers. She was honored by King Leopold III for her role in the Belgian underground and for assisting Jewish refugees after the war.