Charlotte Bondy, 90, from Roosevelt, who escaped the Nazis in Germany as a child and later emigrated to America via Cuba, died on July 22 following a series of health issues.
Bondy, nee Berger, moved to Roosevelt 22 years ago after spending four decades in East Brunswick. But long before that, she survived a harrowing journey from Breslau, Germany, after her Jewish family felt the full brunt of Kristallnacht. Charlotte could see a nearby synagogue go up in flames and the Gestapo came unsuccessfully to the apartment a few days later to find her father.
The once-well-off family fled the country on train, hiding a few precious jewels inside Charlotte’s half-violin. Charlotte was six years old at the time. They then took a boat to Cuba, and scraped by selling hard candies in Havana. Two years later, the Bergers found a sponsor who afforded them entry into the United States. In New York City, they opened a homemade candy store in Washington Heights.
Charlotte soon attended the High School of Music and Art and honed her brilliant soprano voice. She sang on demo records and was an extra in the film, “So Young, So Bad.” She would later sing parts in an East Brunswick community theater company, where she was once singled out by a local reviewer as having “the voice of an angel.”
She met her husband, Ota, a Czech immigrant, in Vineland in 1950 and was soon married at age 18. He spoke no German, and she spoke no Czech, but they managed very well in English. They spent their lives together, and their family grew to include three more generations. Charlotte sang folk songs to all of them. She had a song in her head at all times, and would hum constantly as she went about her business.
She worked for several years as a pre-K music teacher in East Brunswick. When she moved to Roosevelt, she became a member of the Roosevelt Senior Citizens.
She is survived by a daughter, Larisa; a son, Filip; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her husband, Ota, died in 2011.