Forbidden History - Extra: Hessy Levinsons Taft: The Jewish Aryan Poster Child

Episode Date: July 6, 2023

Bonus Episode: In this episode of Forbidden Fruit, we explore the life of Hessy Levinsons Taft, the girl who won the ‘most beautiful Aryan baby’ Nazi propaganda contest as an infant in 1935. As it turned out, Hessy was actually Jewish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It contains mature adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to Forbidden Fruit, the Forbidden History Podcast Extra. In our last episode, we examined Hitler's pursuit of producing his so-called Aryan master race and the ghastly methods he used in his campaign. In this episode, we're going to explore. the life of Hesse-Levenson's Taft, the little girl who won a Nazi propaganda portrait contest

to find the ideal German-Aryan baby. Unbeknownst to the Nazi officials who selected her photo, Hessey was Jewish. This is Hessey Levinson's Taft, the Jewish Aryan poster child. Hessey Levinson's Taft is born on May 17, 1934, in Berlin, Germany to Ashkenazi Jewish parents, Jacob and Pauline Levinson's. Hesse's parents are originally from Latvia and the pair meet as teenagers when their older siblings marry each other. They both studied music in Berlin and were wed in 1928. Her father is offered a job to sing opera professionally in Berlin and he performs under the stage name Yasha Lenson. When the company discovers his surname is in fact Levinson's, and that he's Jewish, his contract is cancelled.

This is just the beginning of the prejudice the Levinson's family would face under the ruling of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Despite the setbacks, Hesse's family live in relative comfort, thanks to their father's hard work. It means that when Hessey is just six months old, her family are able to afford the luxury of getting her portrait taken. Her mother and aunt take her to a well-known Berlin photographer, Hans Balin. They choose Hans to photograph Hessey as he too is Jewish, and they feel this is best to protect the young baby. Hesse's parents frame the beautiful photo of their baby girl

and place it atop their piano. One day, the family's cleaner arrives at the apartment to deliver some bewildering news. You know, I saw Hessey on a magazine cover in town, the woman states. Hesse's mother protests, arguing that many babies look the same, and surely that can't be the case. No, no, it's definitely Hessey. It's this picture.

Hesse's mother hands over some money, and soon the helper returns with a magazine. Surely enough, Hessey is on. the front cover. Hesse's parents are outraged. Behind the cover of Hesse's innocent baby photo are images of men wearing swastikas, members of the Hitler youth, and Hitler himself reviewing troops. The title reads, The Sun in the House, a Nazi family magazine, one of the only few publications allowed to circulate at the time. But how had Hesse's photo wound up on the front front cover, especially considering she is Jewish. Hesse's mother rushes back to the photographer,

Hans Balin, demanding answers. Hans gently hushes her and explains that he, along with nine other outstanding German photographers, had been asked to submit ten of their best photos. But you knew this was a Jewish child, she stresses. Hans goes on to explain that the competition had been to find a perfect example of the Aryan race. I wanted to allow myself the pleasure of this joke, he says. And you see, I was right. Of all the babies, they picked your baby as the perfect Aryan. But little did Hans know that by performing this silent protest,

he would put Hessey and her parents' lives in irreputable danger. The picture of Hessey appears on various Nazi publications and is widely distributed across Germany and beyond. The Reich are completely unaware of Hesse's true heritage. For Hesse's first birthday, her aunt, who is living in Lithuania at the time, goes to buy her a card for the occasion. At the store, she comes across a postcard with Hesse's photograph on it, and without saying another word, purchases the card and gifts it to Hessey,

for her first birthday. Amazed by the irony of it all, but disturbed by the consequences this could bring, Hesse's mother and aunt are extremely careful where they take Hesse for fear that she may be recognized in public. The family stay in Berlin for some time, but soon they consult with the Latvian consulate about what to do as things in the city get progressively worse.

The consulate says they'll let them know when it's time to leave, and that they should be relatively okay, seeing as they are not German Jews. However, a few further instances put things into perspective for the family. Towards the end of 1936, the Levinson's give birth to another little girl, Noemmy. And soon after, the Gestapo march into Hesse's father's work and arrest him without question. Someone in his professional circle had reported him for an unknown reason. Hesse's mother is not immune to the difficulties caused by the Nazi regime either. Someone in their apartment complex reports her for criticizing Hitler.

But luckily, the landlord comes to her defense, stating that Pauline would never say anything unpleasant about our leader. Although the Levensons had people to vouch and cover for them here and there, they make the decision to move to Paris in 1938 to protect their family's lives. Hessey is four years old. The family enjoy life in Paris for some time, appreciating the cultural life and buzz that the city has to offer. In a bid to remain cautious, Noemi and Hessey are told not to speak German,

when in public. In June of 1940, a month after the Nazis begin their invasion of France, Paris falls, and Germany occupies the city. The concierge of the Levenson's family's apartment building warns them against coming home from school and work, saying, the Germans are coming and rounding up Jews. Hesse's father speedily organizes for Pauline, Hesse, and Noemi to escape Paris and head to the coast near Bordeaux. They leave the city and stay at a seaside resort for some time. But here, life is still complicated. Pauline is conscious that they're the only Jewish family in town,

and then the local police discover a German spy is a guest at the resort they're staying at. No longer safe for them to stay put, Hesse's father drives down from Paris, rescues them from the seaside town, and they begin their journey. fleeing the German-occupied north of France. They head towards the south of France and meet up with a French resistance group who are to help the family and other fleeing Jews cross-occupied territory to the Zone Libre, the Free Zone.

The family are loaded onto a truck with others, but after a while, the group have to alight to cross a particularly treacherous marsh by foot. All the children are instructed to be silent. for there's a German encampment behind the woods of the marsh. Hesse is terrified by one of the volunteers. He is a large, ominous-looking Frenchman

who has an enormous knife around his belt. He pulls it out of his holster and in a thick French accent whispers to the kids. Anyone who opens their mouth will have their tongue cut out. It does the trick. The children keep their lips sealed.

As they make their way across the marsh, six-year-old Hessey can't contain herself. What are we doing? she whispers to her father's friend. We're running, this is a sport, he says, trying to keep spirits high amongst the children. I hate this sport, Hesse proclaims. She sees the man with a knife again and quickly composes herself. Along the journey, the children are bribed with chocolates to make sure they remain quiet, and miraculously, it works. The Levinsons reached the Zone Libre,

and Jacob immediately begins looking for the next safe place to take his family. They settle in Nice, in the south of France for a while, and Jacob routinely visits the American consulate. He had applied for American visas whilst in Paris, but with only a small 90-day window to reach the U.S. by to qualify, and only 30 days remaining. He fears the family won't make it across the Atlantic Ocean in time. He visits a series of Latin American consulates throughout Nice.

Only the Cuban consulate takes him seriously. Soon after, with visas in hand, they are aboard a ship from Marseille, destined for their new home. After three and a half weeks, the family arrive in Cuba. Along with the other refugees from the ship, they're taken to a detention camp called Camp Tiscornia. Jacob had spent all their savings getting the family out of Europe and safe to Cuba. Spending several weeks in Tiscornia, Jacob figures out his next steps to keep his family safe and looked after. On a daily basis, he visits various banks and asks for loans to start a business,

oftentimes offering himself an honest man as collateral. Eventually, the Royal Bank of Canada decide to help him, and he begins working in the pineapple business, later switching to the farming industry. He sets up a factory, the first of its kind in Cuba. The family settle in Havana, with the girls. girls going to a British school to learn English. During their time in Havana, World War II comes and goes

with the family safe away from the fighting. While most of Hesse's immediate family survived the Shoah, the majority of her family, those who stayed in Latvia, were sadly victims of the Holocaust. It's now 1948. Hessey is 14 years old. The Levensons has had been.

have kept their sights set on the United States, and finally, they immigrate to New York City. Jacob continues running his now very successful business from New York, and Hesse goes to high school in America for two years, with her sister Noemi in tow. However, the girls don't enjoy life in New York as much as they had thought they would. Hesse feels she doesn't fit in with the stereotypical New York teenager, for she's had a much different childhood to most of them. Eventually, she finds her niche, whilst studying at Bernard College, she majors in chemistry and goes on to continue her studies at Columbia University.

In 1959, she marries Earl Taft, with whom she shares two children and four grandchildren with. Hesse's career continues to progress, and she later becomes a professor at St. John's University in Queens, New York. Hesse's story gains attention in later years as she becomes a symbol of resistance against Nazi ideology. She speaks about her experiences and memories and emphasizes the importance of standing up against hatred and prejudice. Hesse's story is bittersweet. Her parents' wealth and her father's momentous efforts meant that her and her family were able to escape persecution and eventually lead a peaceful life.

However, for the majority of Jews in Europe, this would not be the case, many not having the funds, connections, or warning to escape to safety. It may not be much at all in the world. the grand scheme of things. But Hesse's baby portrait is a small moral victory of its time against Nazism. When asked how she feels about being a Jewish poster child in Nazi propaganda, Hesse states, I feel a sense of revenge.

Good revenge. This is an audio production by Laika Shot Entertainment, presented by Bridget Lappin, Executive producers Danny O'Brien and Henry Scott. Story producer Maddie Bowers. Assistant producer, Alice Chudder. Thank you for listening.