Synopsis
Out of Broken Glass tells the uplifting true story of a young German Jewish boy who is terrorized by the Nazis and torn from his family as he escapes alone to England on the Kindertransport. He overcomes fear and loneliness during wartime, living among non-Jewish strangers as he tries to retain his Jewish soul. At 14, he quits school to start work and agonizes over the unknown fate of his parents who perish in the Holocaust.
Near the end of the war, Sel joins relatives in New York, serves in the U.S. military and, armed with the G.I. bill but only an eighth grade education, he manages to enter college and earns degrees from CCNY and Columbia. After working at two companies, he joins ITT which transfers him and his new wife to Brussels where he faces more professional and personal challenges, especially in the German subsidiary. Returning to the U.S. with two young children, the Huberts settle in Westchester and become involved suburbanites.
Yet Selâ s past continues to haunt him as he undergoes major cathartic experiences while attending the 1981 reunion of Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem, and later as he publicly recites Kaddish in his German birth village after speaking to the assembled villagers in an ecumenical worship service. He retires from ITT, joins a consulting firm and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust by speaking at schools and colleges. He explores his perception of being Jewish in the post-Holocaust world and basks in the pride of his own family.
About the Author
Born in Germany, Sel Hubert's tranquil childhood was shattered by the Nazis during Kristallnacht, expulsion from his village and separation from his parents at age 13. He escaped to England on the Kindertransport, lived briefly with a Jewish family, then a Christian couple and in a hostel before joining relatives in New York in 1945. After years of anguish, he received conflicting reports on how his parents perished in the Holocaust. Sel served as sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps and earned engineering degrees from CCNY and Columbia University. He joined ITT management at its New York and then European headquarters where he dealt with unique professional and personal challenges, especially in Germany. Back in the U.S., he grew professionally, taught graduate courses for Adelphi University and served as president of his congregation. He ended his distinguished career in human resources as senior consultant with Hewitt Associates. Sel attended the 1981 reunion of Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem and later was invited as "guest of honor" to his Bavarian birth village where he spoke and recited Kaddish for his parents in public during a solemn ecumenical worship service, with surprising results. He and Hilda, married 46 years, have two grown children and five grandchildren. He is a Board member of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, is featured in two educational films on the Holocaust and is a sought-after speaker at schools and colleges.
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