Lilly Maier

Arthur and Lilly: The Girl and the Holocaust Survivor Lilly Maier

What do a 75-year-old American rocket engineer and an 11-year-old European schoolgirl have in common? Not much at first glance, but a closer look reveals that Arthur and Lilly greatly impacted each other's lives. A young German female had a chance encounter with a survivor of the Kinder transport when the man returned to see his childhood apartment again over 60 years later. Kinder transport was how Jewish families snuck their children out of Germany to safety during WWII.

The visit impacted the young Lilly, and a lasting friendship was developed between the two. When the newspaper picked up Arthur and Lilly's story, a woman contacted them. It was discovered that Arthur's parents had left a folder of family documents with her before they were taken away to internment camps, where they died.