Library of Virginia remembers Berlin native who survived German concentration camps and lived in Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- For International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Library of Virginia is remembering Gerda Nothmann Luner, a Berlin native who survived German concentration camps and later lived in Richmond. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is recognized on Jan. 27 as a time to remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. According to the Gerda Luner Papers at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Luner was born in Berlin in 1927. After Kristallnacht, -- which spanned from Nov. 9 through 10, 1938, and entailed a wave of violence toward Jewish people throughout Germany and other areas -- Luner's parents found foster homes for herself and her sister, Vera, in the Netherlands. According to the papers, she never saw her parents again. (Photo: Library of Virginia) In June of 1943, Luner reportedly found a position at a company that worked to protect Jewish people during the war. Eventually, staff at the company, including Luner, were deported to Auschwitz, after which she was taken to seven other camps in Germany. In May of 1945, the papers said Luner was placed on a cattle car to Sweden and when she arrived, she was told she was free. After spending time in a hospital in Sweden, Luner was eventually able to contact an uncle in Richmond who arranged travel papers for her. She reportedly immigrated in 1946. In 1946, when she was 19 years old, Luner was a senior at Thomas Jefferson, during which she was placed on the honor roll, according to records from the Library of Virginia. According to her posthumously published memoir, "Gerda's Story: Memoir of a Holocaust Survivor," Luner died in 1999 of cancer.