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Albert Miller was born in Berlin in 1922 to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Miller. Mr. Miller owned a clothing factory, which he had inherited from his father (it was built in 1871). The family was 'three day Jews,' quite well off and lived in a predominantly non-Jewish neighborhood. While Albert had a bat mitzvah, he did not celebrate a Passover seder until moving to Ohio.
Albert attened a school quite a distance away from home, he was required to take multiple trains. The school had a student population that was approximately 20% Jewish. As the Nazis gained power, the Jewish students started to leave the school. Albert stayed because of his non-Jewish friends and was the last Jewish student to leave the school.
Albert had the opportunity to see three sessions of the 1936 Olympics including Jesse Owens gold metal win. Not long after he would leave his school and be sent to Switzerland for schooling (1937).
After Kristalnacht Albert's parents decided to leave Germany. It took some time but they were able to get the documents they needed to travel to Belgium, then to Holland and then to England. When the family arrived in England they were told they would be considered enemy aliens and would eventually be interred on the Isle of Mann. Albert's parents had already submitted requests to immigrate to the United States while in Germany and were lucky that they were approved a few days before they would have been deported to the Isle of Mann.
Upon arriving in the United States, Albert and his family spent some time in New York before making the move to Cincinnati. Albert (age 17) started going to school at night to receive his diploma. He then decided to join the army but was sent his diploma anyway.
Albert met his wife Jane (Julianne Bertha Goldberger), originally from Vienna, in New York and after 6 or 7 meeings they were married. Albert practiced optometry until retiring.
Jane and Albert lived together in Toledo and had three sons. They now have five grandchildren.
Since WWII Albert has visited Berlin four times. His most recent visit was in 2008 when him and his wife Jane were asked to come and speak at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. An album of their trip can be found in Albert's file at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education's archives.
