Local News
Whittier resident lived a hidden history of Jewish survival
Her parents tried to hide their desperation, but Miriam Brookfield can remember anxious days scrambling to escape the growing power of the Nazis.
Brookfield, 98, and a longtime resident of Whittier, was born in Chemnitz, Germany, the only child of Willy and Dora Fleischmann. On Saturday, she shared her memories in advance of International Holocaust Memorial Day, marked this year on Monday.
She was 11 in 1936 when she remembers other children in her school learning to be cruel.
“They called me dirty Jew and really were taking in all the propaganda they heard,” she said.
Her parents sent her to live with her maternal grandmother in Leipzig, a bigger city with a substantial Jewish community. Miriam learned basic English as she waited to be reunited with her parents.
Willy Fleischmann wrote letters to embassies in countries they never even heard of. He sent one poignant missive to the family that owned Fleischmann’s Yeast Company in Ohio, asking if they were somehow related, could they help find a way to get them out of Europe? No answer came.
Her father would later try four or five times to escape to Belgium. In 1939, he was arrested and brought to the attention of the Nazi Gestapo. While the man in charge of his arrest stalled for the family, Dora Fleischmann heard of another family trying to sell tickets to Shanghai, China. She snapped up the tickets, presented them to the man, who helped them leave 10 days later. The family boarded the steamship “Bianca Mano” with 500 other Jews. Miriam was 13.
“I left with the clothes on my back and a couple of books,” she said. “We had one, I wouldn’t even call it a suitcase, a bag, and beddings. Beddings were prized. China was not in our radar at all, we thought no one went there unless they were missionaries.”
The trip took three and a half weeks and went past 12 countries, some allowing the refugees to disembark for a bit, others not. Brookfield served as a quasi-interpreter for the German-speaking passengers and Italian crew.
Her first impression of Shanghai was horrible: “There were beggars and the smells were frightening … everyone screaming in a language I didn’t understand.”
The shipload of refugees was welcomed by the diverse Jewish community in Shanghai, Jews from Egypt and Baghdad, who supported the newcomers, supplying them with Menorahs and clothes. The Committee for the Assistance of European Jewish Refugees set up soup kitchens.
The Fleischmanns were housed in a bombed boarding school that would have been park-like and beautiful if not for the burned structures and rubble. Willy and Dora shared a dormitory-style space with 12 other couples while their daughter roomed with other girls.
“We lived like that for eight years,” Brookside said. “Things got worse when war broke out in 1941 and money that had been sent from America to help us dried up.”
The Japanese military occupied and took control of Shanghai, later capitulating to Nazi pressure and establishing a “designated area” for “stateless refugees.” Brookside and her family already lived within what would be called the Hongkew Ghetto.
Food, already not the most nutritious to begin with, became scarce. People started selling items to their Chinese neighbors one by one.
Brookfield remembers picking up a few choice swear words in Chinese, the better to deter anyone from taking advantage of her. But that didn’t help when she was arrested one day and taunted by Japanese soldiers who made her stand against a wall and raised their guns at her, laughing. It turns out she had inadvertently broken a law about possessing white cotton. A Japanese officer questioned and later spared her, even feeding her breakfast.
“He asked in English if I had had breakfast,” Brookfield said. “I didn’t want to say I hardly ever had any breakfast.”
News of the end of World War II trickled into the community in 1945. Brookside remembers some Jews planning a return to Germany, Austria and Poland, thinking the relatives they left behind were waiting for them. Most would learn the names of Auschwitz and Sobibor and Dachau in later letters reporting the deaths of so six million Jews.
“I have no cousins, no uncles, no aunts,” Brookfield said.
One grandmother survived the Theresienstadt concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic but later died in Switzerland.
At the end of the war, Brookfield’s English skills made her valuable to post-war agencies in China, the last one being the United Nations. It was while on assignment with this group that Brookfield met Mao Tse-Tung, who visited her offices, shook her hand and gifted everyone with a photo of himself.
The Fleischmanns secured passage to the U.S. in 1947, landing in San Francisco. Brookfield remembers setting off in a city bus a couple of days later, spying a “Secretaries Needed” sign outside a building, getting off the bus and finding herself hired by Foster and Kleiser Outdoor Advertising.
It was while she was volunteering at the Jewish Community Center’s canteen that she met Air Force airman Howard Brookfield.
“I was serving coffee and he walked in,” she said.
When it was time to leave, he followed her out to her car in the pouring rain and cleaned her windshield.
“He said, ‘I’d like to take you out for coffee,’ and I said yes. He had to drive an hour out of San Francisco to come back for me, but he did it,” Brookfield said.
The two were married on Aug. 9. 1953, at Temple Chevra Tilim in San Francisco after Howard’s honorable discharge from the Air Force. Miriam wore a full-length lace and satin gown with a veiled cap, borrowed from a friend who had wed earlier that year.
The Brookfields then began an exodus from city to city as Howard’s banking career took him to different assignments. They had their three children, Debra, Leslie and David, when a friend recommended Whittier as a good place to raise a family.
They found their home on Woodcrest Drive, Howard assuring his bride they could still get their deposit back if she didn’t like it. She liked Whittier. They stayed for more than 40 years.
Her husband remained involved in Air Force matters, joining the Civil Air Patrol and serving as Brigadier General to Wing Headquarters Squadron until his death in 2019. He was 90.
“We thought alike, his family was also from Germany, and I loved how he kept his love for flying and how we found community there,” she said.
The two also traveled extensively, including two visits to China where Brookfield found the places of her wartime childhood paved over.
These days, Brookfield still loves to read, and when invited, to talk about her World War II experience with schoolchildren.
Her family’s saga was included in the traveling exhibit “Hidden History: Recounting the Shanghai Jewish Story” that made a stop at the Holocaust Museum LA. An online overview of the exhibit is available at holocaustmuseumla.org/hidden-history.
“I really try to give them a good understanding of what happened,” Brookfield said. “Most of them had not even heard the word Holocaust before. I start talking and you see their eyes widen and they hear it. Then they ask if there were any bathrooms.”
“A lot of life is circumstance,” she added. “The people you meet have a great impact in your life, some for better and some for worse. (Whatever comes), I’m game.”
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 for 21 from the field and 13 for 15 from the free-throw line after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game.
“I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I was a little too juiced up. Special moment. I’m happy we won so I can really enjoy the last couple days and soak it up. That really helps.”
Jalen Williams had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Chet Holmgren added 22 points for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort was named first-team all defense and Williams was named second-team all-defense earlier in the day. They helped anchor a unit that held Minnesota to 41.4% shooting.
“When you win games, you do it together and you have fun out there, everything else – all the individual stuff you want – it comes with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points for Minnesota, but it took him 26 shots to get them. Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 17 for the Timberwolves.
Game 3 is Saturday in Minneapolis.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the first half, then made a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to help Oklahoma City take a 58-50 lead. He scored 19 points before the break.
“We didn’t close the half very well,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “I thought if we close the half better then we don’t put ourselves on such a razor edge in the third.”
In the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the paint and threw up a wild shot that went in as he was fouled by his cousin, Alexander-Walker. Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to give the Thunder a 73-64 lead.
A lob by Cason Wallace to Holmgren for a two-handed jam on a fast break put Oklahoma City ahead 82-65 late in the third quarter. The Thunder took a 93-71 advantage into the fourth.
Minnesota closed to within 10 in the final period, but Oklahoma City kept the Timberwolves at bay late. Now, Minnesota gets to go home, where it is 4-1 in the playoffs.
Finch remained optimistic.
“Every minute in a series is a chance to find something,” he said. “So we’re going to go back home. This is a good team at home. So we’re going to go home and fight for Game 3. Heads up, look at the tape and get ready for Game 3.”
MONTEBELLO – The deeper a team goes in the playoffs, the tougher it gets. The Montebello baseball team has found that out the last three seasons.
The Oilers have amassed 61 wins during that span, but each time they have bowed out of the CIF Southern Section playoffs in the quarterfinals.
Montebello had flawless pitching and defense over the first two rounds of the postseason, but three errors helped contribute to a 7-3 loss to Heritage Christian in the Division 6 quarterfinals Thursday.
The Oilers (20-10) briefly threatened in the bottom of the seventh by scoring two runs, but left the bases loaded.
Heritage Christian (20-8-1) advances to Tuesday’s semifinals. It will face the winner of Friday’s game between Marshall and Santa Fe.
“You know, they are fighters year in and year out and this is the third year in a row going to the quarterfinals,” Montebello coach Manny Arana said. “We’ve had success and they’re all winners and we instill in them to be a winner. You have to be a fighter.
“You could see that in the last inning with a ball that could have gone five feet either way and put the tying run on base. After that, anything can happen. That’s baseball.”
Leading the way for the Oilers were senior center fielder Isaiah Cervantes, who had two singles, and freshman shortstop Nathan Govea, who had two singles and scored a run. Senior catcher Roberto Barraza had a double and an RBI.
Heritage Christian senior shortstop Eden Nalin led the way for team with three hits and an RBI, while three other players had two hits apiece.
The Warriors (22-8-1) opened the scoring with two runs in the first inning. One run came across on the first of three errors by the Oilers.
Two innings later, Montebello cut the lead in half with a run in the third inning.
Starting pitcher Fernando Cruz singled up the middle with two outs and came home on a double to left by Barraza.
The Oilers left two runners on base in the inning and also left runners on second and third in the second inning.
“From day one in the playoffs we’ve told them you have to throw strikes, play defense and get a clutch hit,” Arana said. “The first two games we did that and (Thursday) we had a couple of opportunities early and missed and that hurt us.”
Cruz opened the playoffs with a one-hitter. On Thursday Cruz scattered six his through five innings with five strikeouts.
“It’s been a good ride with my teammates, and we’ve been playing together for almost two or three years,” Cruz said. “I’ve shared the field with these seniors since before high school.”
The sixth inning turned out to be the downfall for Montebello, as the Warriors scored three runs.
With two outs, an infield pop fly was dropped for the third error of the game. That loaded the bases and the next two Warriors batters combined to knock in the three runs and increase their lead to 5-1.
Two more runs came across the next inning for a 7-1 advantage.
“In the seventh inning, we were down 7-1, but our team almost managed to get a comeback,” Cruz added. “We had the tying run at the plate, but just couldn’t get it done.”
Cruz was referring to the two-run rally and how they left the bases loaded to end the game.
Govea opened the inning with a single to left. Senior left fielder Devin Lopez was hit by the pitch and Cervantes loaded the bases with a single to right center.
An RBI walk to junior second baseman Michael Rios brought in the second run and a sacrifice fly by Cruz sent Lopez in to score. A fly ball to right ended the game and season for the Oilers.
Two tenant unions and several residents have each filed lawsuits against the city of Pasadena and the county of Los Angeles, frustrated in what they allege are agencies that have failed to meet their legal responsibilities to inspect and enforce safe and habitable living standards for renters following the Eaton fire.
Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, announced on Thursday morning that, in conjunction with the legal firm Morrison Foerster LLP, it had filed lawsuits on behalf of the Altadena Tenants Union, Pasadena Tenants Union, along with four named wildfire survivors.
“The message that we’re sending with these lawsuits is simple,” said Whitney O’Byrne, a partner with Morrison Foerster and a board member of NLSLA. “When a government agency fails to protect the health and safety of its residents, especially the most vulnerable, it must be held accountable.”
The lawsuits aim to force government agencies to take legally required actions to thoroughly inspect rental residences for hazardous toxins and see that appropriate remediation methods are used by landlords to make them safe and livable.
“A primary issue presenting was that landlords were not remediating units contaminated with toxic smoke, soot and ash,” said Lena Silver, director of policy and administrative advocacy at NLSLA.
Silver said the city and county governments are responsible for conducting the inspections that are the first step in the process, but they have not met that responsibility.
“The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, responsible for enforcing and inspecting habitability rights for tenants in unincorporated Altadena, and the City of Pasadena Code Compliance Division, responsible for doing the same in Pasadena, both maintain that smoke, soot and ash inspection do not fall within their purview,” she said.
“Pasadena continues to state that smoke and ash remediation is a purely civil issue,” Silver said. “While Los Angeles has informed us that it has performed a handful of inspections, the type of inspection they’re providing cannot adequately identify the health risks of the impact of toxic smoke, soot and ash.”
L.A. County Public Health did not comment on the claims, and Pasadena’s spokesperson said the city has not been served with the lawsuit and couldn’t respond.
Conditions have put tenants between a rock and a hard place, Silver explained. Because some landlords are refusing to pay for the professional, certified remediation necessary to address toxins imbedded in places like walls and insulation, renters are having to make a choice.
Some have moved back in to unclean units and have begun experiencing health issues, Silver said, because they can’t afford to move elsewhere. Others are still living in temporary quarters, or in their cars, or paying two rents at once in order to keep their Altadena and Pasadena places, because they’re ultimately more affordable.
“We’ve also heard stories of tenants paying out of pocket at extremely high cost for testing just to confirm the toxic levels of lead and other contaminants that we know are present,” Silver said.
Brenda Lyon, a tenant in Pasadena, asked her landlord to file a homeowner’s claim in order to bring in a qualified remediation team, but they refused. Instead, she and her husband paid out of pocket for the work, expecting reimbursement from the landlord.
“I called every politician’s office, every city office,” Lyon said. “I was advised to file a code compliance, so I did, (but) the code compliance was denied, stating my problem was a civil issue.
“A habitable premise, per the state of California, is a right of a tenant,” she said, “so why would no one in the city make that happen for me?”
When she and her husband again approached the landlord about filing a homeowner’s claim so the couple could be reimbursed, they were told No and that, if they didn’t like it, they could move.
“We need our city to have our back, so that we can all move back in safely,” Lyon said.
Katie Clark, a founder of Altadena Tenant Union, who lost her rental home of 15 years to the Eaton fire, said she speaks with people every day that are still displaced, are living in unclean facilities, have been hit with illegal rent hikes, or are a step away from being homeless because their money is dwindling as they cover the cost of temporary housing.
“Throughout all of this, Los Angeles County has been virtually silent when it comes to the plight of tenants,” she said.
Many, Clark said, are people of modest means who rely on rent-controlled apartments to get by.
“The county has consistently passed the buck and shrugged off its responsibilities, telling tenants, ‘You’re on your own,’” she said.
“We’ve been told there’s nothing the County can do,” she said. “We know that’s not true … Just because we don’t own property doesn’t mean we’re not part of this community.”
Silver and the legal teams from both groups intend to make both Pasadena and L.A. County meet their obligations.
“The County and City must immediately provide adequate inspections of rental units with smoke, soot and ash damage caused by the Eaton fire and do it in a manner that actually ensures the health and safety of tenants,” Silver said. “They must cite property owners for any damage and they must require property owners to remediate that damage promptly and thoroughly to eliminate any health risks.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.
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