Thumbnail for Hanna Rosenberg story

Hanna Rosenberg Gradwohl

In August 1937, Hanna Rosenberg, and her parents, Ludwig and Ilse, fled Sonneberg, Germany. They arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, and settled in the home of her grandparents, Alfred and Kate Speier. Hanna acclimated to her new life in America and was active socially and academically throughout high school and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This collection highlights Hanna’s successes in Lincoln, as well as some of the Speier/Rosenberg household items from Germany housed at Nebraska State Historical Society. Included is a Persian lamb coat that belonged to Hanna’s paternal grandmother, Hedwig Rosenberg. Hedwig and her husband, Bernhard, were murdered in the Treblinka death camp in 1942. A German neighbor had buried the coat and other treasured possessions for safekeeping and later sent them to the family in Lincoln.  Hear Hanna's story in her own words.