Obituary of Hilde Goldberg

Goldberg, Hilde, 90, of Teaneck, on December 3, 2015, at home surrounded by family. She was born in Berlin, Germany, on February 18, 1925, and grew up in Amsterdam. She survived the Holocaust heroically as a member of the Resistance, first saving Jewish children and then Allied airmen, even when she was in hiding. Her parents were deported when she was 18, and died at Auschwitz. She met Max, her Swiss-born husband of 67 years until his death this March, when both were engaged in rescue work at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after the war. As newlyweds, Hilde, a nurse, and Max, a doctor, fought as medical officers in the Israeli War of Independence in 1948. They came to the US in 1950. At Belsen, Hilde nurtured survivor children out of trauma and set up facilities for them. In the 1960s she returned to this work, starting as a volunteer with the Council of Jewish Women, and from 1971 as a professional when she founded and became the first director of the Children's Aid and Adoption Society's Day Care Center (now the Turrell Learning Center) in Paramus. She also helped develop day care standards for New Jersey. In retirement she continued her work with the Bergen Family Center and the Volunteer Center of Bergen County. She received several awards for her service to children and families. She is survived by her daughters Rita (husband Oliver), Susie Brubaker (husband Edward) and Dorothy (husband David) and by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Hilde Jacobsthal Goldberg was warm and loving and had a radiant smile, especially when she was around small children. She spoke four languages fluently and was brilliant at her work. She was also witty, playful, and brave. She will be missed by all who loved and were helped by her. Funeral will be held at 10.30 am Friday, December 4 at Riverside Cemetery, 12 Market Street, Saddle Brook, NJ. There will be a lunch following the service at 961 Wilson Avenue, Teaneck, NJ. Contributions may be made in her memory to: The National Council of Jewish Women; Children's Aid and Family Services; the Volunteer Center of Bergen County; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; and The Small Things, a charity that helps orphans in Tanzania. For condolences, directions, or information www.edenmemorial.com or call (201) 947-EDEN.