Dr. and Mrs. Julius Picard and Sons
To escape persecution by the Nazis, in 1938 Dr. Julius Picard emigrated from Mainz, Germany to Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. The day after their arrival in the port of Boston, the infamous hurricane of 1938 hit New England. After passing the State Medical Board examination, Dr. Picard began practicing dermatology in September of 1939 in Fall River, where he remained for the rest of his life. He and his wife Klara became naturalized citizens in 1943. His two sons who emigrated with him were Hans and Ernst, who were 12 and 10 years old, respectively, at the time. Hans went on to teach electrical engineering at New Bedford Institute of Technology, Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth), and New Bedford High School. Ernst practiced neurology. A third son was born in the United States – Irving – who studied law and since December 2008, has been serving as SIPA Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS).
Claire T. Carney Library Archives and Special Collections
The Claire T. Carney Library Archives and Special Collections holds a small collection donated by Dr. Julius Picard to the Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture in 1982. Nazi persecution during the Holocaust and its effect on families is made to feel more real as we go through the collection’s assortment of German identification cards, Jewish star patches worn on clothing in Germany, passports, family photographs, German military insignia, and Dr. Picard’s memoir of how he came to Fall River.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
The UN General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the victims of the Nazi era and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides. For more information, go to the web site of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/special-focus/international-holocaust-remembrance-day
