Interview with Flora Hogner,

Interview Summary

Flora Hogner shares what she can recall about her family before being taken to a convent during the German occupation in France. She explains why she was taken to the convent and her personal experiences in Nice with the St. Clare nuns. She shares about the Catholic Church leaders involved in the underground network, while describing what the underground network was. Hogner highlights her memories as a hidden child in the French countryside after leaving the convent. Hogner tells about meeting a couple who would become her adopted parents in Graz. She describes the German ammunition deposit near their home and when it exploded. She highlights her life after the war, from her school years to meeting her biological family from the United States. She describes trying to accept her Jewish heritage as an adult, her internal conflict about her personal identity, and her religious confusion. Hogner talks about what she learned about her biological parents from the people that knew them. Hogner discusses having to cope with the trauma from her years in hiding. She describes modern anti-Semitism by sharing stories of her experiences.

Interview Keyword

Adopted children Anti-Semitism Catholicism Cloistered nuns Convents Conversion Coping mechanisms Explosions German occupation, France, 1940-1945 German soldiers Hidden children of France, 1940-1945 Identity loss Jewish children Jewish families Jewish heritage Judaism Judaism--20th century Personal identity Protestant Survival Trauma Underground network Views on religion World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives

Interview LC Subject

Religion World War, 1939-1945.

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.