April is Holocaust Remembrance Month, and in memory of those who suffered, fought, and died during this terrible time in history, Councilwoman Judy Waldman presented Homestead resident and Holocaust survivor Gunther Karger with a proclamation, in which Mayor Steven C. Bateman proclaims April 17, 2013 as Gunther Karger Day in Homestead, Florida.
“The Holocaust was a horrific time in history that claimed the lives of 6 million Jews and decimated countless families,” said Councilwoman Waldman, who presented the proclamation at the April 17 Homestead City Council meeting. “Today, it is an honor to salute Mr. Karger, a survivor of the Holocaust who went on to live an extraordinary life, filled with many accomplishments and contributions to our country and our community.”
Gunther Karger was born on March 16, 1933 in Schmieheim, Germany. At age six, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 when his parents sent him away on a transport of children to Sweden where he lived for seven years. He carried a single suitcase containing a few pictures of his parents, family in Schmieheim, and the only picture of his friend, Hanna Baumann. Gunther’s family having been victims of the Gurs concentration camp in France left Gunther the sole survivor of the Offenheimers, his grandparents’ namesake. In 1951, Gunther Karger graduated high school in New Jersey as valedictorian and joined the United States Air Force, where he worked as a research engineer in Aerospace Sciences. Gunther Karger and his wife Shirley, who now reside in Homestead, Florida, married in 1953, and had two sons. Gunther once named “Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1967 for his contributions to the space program and national security, authored the book Thieves on Wall Street: A survival guide for the investor. On December 14, 2012, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission recognized Mr. Karger’s tireless efforts on behalf of the investor community and his generosity in devoting uncounted hours to studying key issues and providing the Commission with timely, concise, and persuasive analysis. By helping to keep the commission focused on the needs and concerns of retail investors, Gunther helped make America’s financial markets more equitable and fair for all.
