Gunther Karger's Kindertransport Story: Primary Source Deep Dive (Grades 9-12)

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Photographs of Gunther's Family in Germany

A satchel handmade by Gunther's mother, containing handkerchiefs.

Gunther and his wife Shirley on a Cruise

The violin given to Gunther by a Swedish priest

Gunther Kargar was born in Schmieheim, Germany, in 1933 to Herbert and Ida Karger. They lived across the street from the town castle with his grandparents, Karolina and Gustav Offenheimer. As the Nazis seized power, the country became increasingly dangerous for Jews thanks to policies such as the Nuremberg Laws, surging antisemitic violence, and the executions of dissidents who opposed the dictatorship defined the 1930s in Germany. On November 9th, 1938, Kristallnacht occurred. Nicknamed ‘the night of broken glass’ due to the large proportion of Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes that were destroyed, it marked a turning point for the situation of German Jews. Thousands were beaten, killed, and taken to concentration camps. This pogrom made it clear they were no longer safe in Nazi Germany or any of its territories.

In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, an initiative to evacuate Jewish children from the country called Kindertransport was established. Gunther’s parents took it upon themselves to save their son’s life by putting him on one of the trains leaving Germany. Before he fled, his family gave him a pouch containing handkerchiefs (which he kept throughout his life, packed exactly as his mother had packed it), a framed photo of Gunther and his parents, and an envelope of family photographs. Gunther fled to Sweden on the eve of World War II, never to see any of his immediate family again. His parents, grandparents, and relatives were murdered in concentration camps by the Nazis.

In the summer of 1946, after the war ended, Gunther was sent to Pensacola, Florida, to live with his aunt. By this time, he could only speak Swedish, which made his journey to the United States rather challenging. He worked at a supermarket as a bag boy. Gunther, however, did master English quickly. As Pensacola was home to the U.S. Naval Aviation Training Center, he was able to learn math and science beyond the offerings of his school curriculum. Gunther experienced conflict with his family in Pensacola, never feeling like a full or assimilated family member. In high school, he was expelled from his aunt's house and sent to New Jersey to live with an uncle, where he worked on his chicken coop in exchange for lodging.

Upon graduating from high school as a valedictorian, Gunther enlisted in the United States Air Force. At Keesler Air Base in Biloxi, MS, he met Shirley Zoller of New Orleans, Louisiana, whom he later married, and they had two sons. He worked at ITT Communication Systems (ICS), where he helped develop communication and navigation systems used by the American military during the Cold War. Karger was also one of the original founders of the IEEE Communications Society (called “COMSOC”), and the newsletter he wrote eventually became the COMSOC Magazine. In 1966, Karger was elected chairman of the IEEE’s Cape Canaveral, Florida, chapter, the largest at the time, with about 3000 members. He, Shirley, and their sons often traveled to Sweden to visit the Gustafsons and Gunther’s native Schmieheim. They had no grandchildren. Shirley has been a close and contributing partner throughout Gunther’s career. She and Gunther were married for 70 years until her passing in February of 2025.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What does Kristallnacht translate to in English?

2. Where did Gunther get the violin from?

3. What made Gunther realize his passion for science?

Discussion Questions:

1. Look at the primary sources and read the article. After reading the article, what questions do you still have about the sources?