Henderson woman reflects on family lost and found after World War II

Throughout her life, Henderson resident Sonia Kloppenburg, 79, has had someone to look out for her.

In 1939, when Kloppenburg was 6, German soldiers took over her hometown, Vienna.

"I remember the sound of the soldiers," Kloppenburg said. "They came in at night. The next morning, there was a German soldier at every intersection."

The next few months, Kloppenburg's mother grew increasingly nervous navigating her children through crowds as she feared what the soldiers would do because the family was Jewish.

One day, a Jewish philanthropic organization came to offer children safety in England and France.

"Everyone knew the Jews were headed to death," Kloppenburg said. "The Germans didn't mind getting rid of the children because they were useless."

Children younger than 12 were sent to England, while children 12 or older were sent to France.

"My brother was 13," Kloppenburg said. "He was sent to France, and I didn't see him for 18 years."

Kloppenburg never saw her parents again. She learned years later that her parents were sent to a concentration camp.

Kloppenburg first ended up in London.

"I remember being jealous of all the other children because they got to take the bus," Kloppenburg said. "When we went out, we had to take limousines. I just wanted to ride the bus like them."

Kloppenburg didn't realize her caretakers could afford to take them around in limos.

After London was bombed during World War II , the children were relocated to safer areas of the country.

"I remember getting on the train with a sign around my neck saying where I was going and who would be meeting me there," Kloppenburg said.

Three women had opened their homes to the girls . In addition to a place to stay, the children were sent to school and received private piano and dance lessons.

"I just thought that is how life was," Kloppenburg said. "Every once in a while, some one would tell me how grateful I should be. I didn't understand why I needed to be grateful. A typical child's response."

Later, Kloppenburg heard horror stories about other children who were placed in slave-like conditions.

"They were treated like servants and slaves," Kloppenburg said. "I really did need to be grateful."

After she graduated from high school, she was accepted to the University of Oxford in 1951.

"But I didn't want to go," Kloppenburg said. "I was done with school."

She was placed in a department store for work.

When she was 19, she discovered a long-lost cousin.

"I guess I was the long-lost cousin," Kloppenburg said. "She told me it was outrageous I didn't know any of my family and encouraged me to visit them in Israel. I didn't want to go."

Kloppenburg, convinced against her better judg ment, ended up on a boat and made the trip to meet more cousins. Family strife made the trip unpleasant, Kloppenburg said.

While there, she met a man.

"The story of every young woman's life," Kloppenburg said. "He became very attached to me because I was English and had an English passport."

A few months later, he persuaded Kloppenburg to marry him.

"I was unhappy," Kloppenburg said. "I was very strong-willed, so I told him I didn't want to be married anymore."

They hadn't been married a year, but the man agreed to divorce Kloppenburg, and she moved back to England.

She had only $10 to her name but had what she calls chutzpah - a Yiddish word meaning audacity.

"You know when there is something you want to do that others can't get away with but you know you could get away with it?" Kloppenburg said. "That's chutzpah."

A few days before Christmas, Kloppenburg convinced a hotel manager to let her stay without paying.

"I told them I just got back from Israel," Kloppenburg said.

Kloppenburg told the hotel owners that she wouldn't be able to get to her bank account until after Christmas. If they let her stay, she would get the money in four days when the banks reopened.

"The thing is, I didn't have a bank account," Kloppenburg said. "I had my engagement ring and a gold watch I was planning to pawn."

The hotel let her stay there four days, and when the pawn shops opened , Kloppenburg sold her possessions and paid her bill on time.

In 1956, Kloppenburg, who was still in England, discovered that her brother was going to the United States as a displaced person.

"I applied for my visa because I wanted to meet him here," Kloppenburg said. "It was amazing. It was like I knew him all these years. There was no hesitation in our conversation."

She got word to her brother that she would be taking the RMS Queen Elizabeth over and that he should meet her when they docked , which they did.

That was the first time she had seen him since they were taken to different countries. They still remain in contact.

In the United States, Kloppenburg fell in love with New York . She enjoyed going to community theater productions and trying new restaurants.

"I loved being able to hop on and off of any bus and go anywhere," Kloppenburg said.

She also remarried while she was living there.

"But he didn't want to stay there," Kloppenburg said, "which is funny because he was a New Yorker, born and bred."

In 1979, they decided to move to Las Vegas.

"I loved the lights, and I loved to gamble," Kloppenburg said. "I liked playing blackjack or just about any card game."

Real estate was cheap at that time, so the couple thought it was as good a time as any to move.

"First time I came out here, it was different than it is now," Kloppenburg said. "We discovered Henderson was the smart place to live."

Her husband died a few years later.

Kloppenburg isn't much of a gambler anymore.

"If I had the money, I'd probably play," Kloppenburg said. "The first thing I did when I moved here was find a library, then find a community theater to become involved in."

Kloppenburg said reading is now her main hobby, and she reads about 12 hours a day.

Now, it is the staff of Cottages of Green Valley, 2620 Robindale Road, that looks after Kloppenburg. The staff recently worked with Second Wind Dreams, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of seniors .

On April 16, she ate an English-style lunch at the Queen Victoria Pub inside the Riviera Hotel, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd. South .

"I'm thrilled," Kloppenburg said. "I do miss English food because it is what I grew up eating."

Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.