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Bea Karp

Bea Karp was born Beate Stern in Lauterbach, Germany in 1932. She and her family were forced from their home and transported by passenger train to internment camps in the south of France. Bea and her sister Susie were saved by the Jewish French Underground, Œuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE), and were hidden in numerous chateaus and convents until the end of the war. They were never reunited with their parents who were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Bea arrived in the US in 1947, later settling in Omaha with her husband and four daughters. Bea spoke extensively about her Holocaust experiences with Nebraska and Iowa schoolchildren and at community gatherings. Hear Bea's testimony in her own words.


311 items

Bea Karp at Auschwitz I Memorial

  • Date: 2005
  • Format: photograph
  • Source: Institute for Holocaust Education

Bea Karp and Susie Stern

  • Format: photograph
  • Source: Shoah Foundation

Bea Karp and Susie Stern

  • Format: photograph
  • Source: Shoah Foundation

Bea Karp and Her Daughters

  • Format: photograph

Bea Karp (Bea Pappenheimer) Receiving Citizenship

  • Date: June 24,1968
  • Format: photograph
  • Source: Pappenheimer, Deborah

Bea Karp

  • Format: photograph

Bea Karp

  • Date: 2014
  • Format: photograph

The 'Bag Lady' in the Rolls-Royce

  • Date: June 17, 1985
  • Format: newspaper

The backbone of our nation

  • Date: November 12, 2015
  • Creator(s): Liewer, Steve
  • Format: newspaper