Gregory McKay was practically born into hiding in 1942 Amsterdam. His father, a doctor and professor, became active in the resistance as a skilled forger of official documents. Under threat from the Gestapo, the family escaped to Switzerland with the help of a non-Jewish former student of McKays father. The trip was a grueling 10 day trek, by train, car, and foot. Soon after, Gregory and his mother were interned in the labor camps at Buren and Langenbruk, until his father was able to arrange for their escape. Today, McKay lives in Los Angeles, and has recently donated to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust the black bag in which he was carried to safety after hiding from a German patrol at the Swiss border. In 1996, Henk Pelser, the man who helped the family escape Holland, received the Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem Righteous Among the Nations Award.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 20:00:01 +0000