GYONGYI "GINGER" GOLDHAMMER

June 16th, 1907 - June 9th, 2008

Ginger (Gyongyi) was personal friend and was deeply connected to the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies at Emory University. A survivor of the shoah, Ginger fled to Vienna losing nine siblings and her parents. There, Ginger married Dr. Egon Goldhammer and, when he was sent to a concentration camp, she got him out and they fled to China where they spent the rest of world war II, including surviving the great famine of 1945. Fleeing yet again, Ginger and her husband came to the United States and, to the end of her days, Ginger was extremely proud of the country that adopted her, giving thousands of hours in volunteer help to the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Atlanta and maintaining a vigorous interest in America politics. Ginger claimed (correctly) to be the only person to have kissed three American presidents: Ford, Carter, and Clinton, the last at the height of the Lewinsky affair. Ginger joined our efforts at Emory very early, sharing her history and actively supporting our work. It is our honor to present these few souvenirs from her past.

Ginger Goldhammer, "My Life is a Book," told to Sally Chambers (3/30/2002)

Ginger Goldhammer, obituary by Holly Crenshaw, Atlanta Journal Constitution (6/16/2008)

Ginger Goldhammer, interview at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum (2/15/2001) (with permission)

Ginger Goldhammer, interview from the archive of the University of Southern California, Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education (For more information see:www.college.usc.edu/vhi).

Ginger Goldhammer, The Kiss (1), The Kiss (2), with President Clinton 1999

When Ginger died, we deposited all the documents pertaining to her life at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, GA.