14/06/2025
On a summer’s day—5 August 1931—in the historic city of Berlin, Germany, a little girl named Hannelore Kaufmann came into the world. Her parents held her close, unaware of the storm the world would soon become. Yet in their arms lay the heart of a child full of wonder, joy, and light—an innocence that no hatred should ever touch.
Hannelore grew up in a neighborhood filled with trees, cobblestones, and neighbors who knew each other by name. It was a time before the war, before the fear. In those early years, the streets still echoed with the voices of playing children, and among them, Hannelore’s laughter was unmistakable—clear, high, and filled with delight.
She had a favorite possession, one that brought her immeasurable joy: a red tricycle.
It wasn’t just any tricycle. It was her constant companion, her first taste of freedom. With her little legs pedaling hard, she would race down the sidewalks of Berlin, her hair streaming behind her like a banner. Her red tricycle gleamed in the sunlight, often drawing admiring glances from passersby. To Hannelore, it wasn’t just a toy—it was a chariot, a spaceship, a horse—whatever her imagination needed it to be that day.
She would zoom in circles in the courtyard, giggling and pretending to be a racecar driver or a circus performer. Sometimes she would tie a little ribbon to the handlebars or stuff a doll into the basket, chatting with it as she rode. The neighbors would watch her and smile, touched by the sheer joy she exuded. Her parents loved to sit on their front step and watch her play, her cheeks flushed with laughter, her world still untouched by cruelty.
Hannelore was bright and curious, always asking questions—Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? What makes rain? She loved books and fairy tales, but more than anything, she loved movement—running, skipping, riding, spinning. Her energy was like sunshine, warming those around her.
But the world was changing.
Berlin, like all of Germany, fell deeper into the grip of N**i ideology. The laws changed. The whispers began. The signs went up on shops, and the stares turned colder. For Jewish families like the Kaufmanns, the world began to narrow.
Yet even as life grew harder, Hannelore kept riding her red tricycle.
Even as Jewish children were banned from public schools, and neighbors looked away, she found freedom in the rhythm of her pedaling. Even as fear crept into her parents’ eyes and food grew scarce, she held onto her tricycle like a talisman—something red and beautiful and hers.
Eventually, the day came when she could ride it no longer.
The tricycle, once a symbol of joy and speed, sat silent in the corner of a room that grew colder and quieter by the day.
In 1944, when Hannelore was just 13 years old, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz, the most infamous of the N**i extermination camps. Her red tricycle was left behind—perhaps still waiting by the door, unaware that its rider would never return.
There, in the shadow of chimneys and barbed wire, Hannelore Kaufmann’s life was taken.
She was 13.
She never rode her tricycle again.
But in the minds and hearts of those who remember, she is still riding.
Still flying through the Berlin streets.
Still laughing into the wind.
Still imagining new worlds from the seat of her red tricycle.
Her story, like that of so many children lost in the Holocaust, reminds us of what was stolen—not only lives but dreams, laughter, and love.
Hannelore Kaufmann was not a number. She was not a statistic.
She was a child who loved her red tricycle.
She was a daughter, a friend, a soul filled with life.
She had a favorite toy, favorite games, and a heart that trusted the world.
We remember Hannelore not for the way her life ended, but for the way she lived. With joy. With imagination. With boundless energy and a red tricycle that carried her dreams.
Let us honor her by remembering her name and telling her story.
Let us speak for the children who had no voice.
Let us ensure that their innocence, their joy, and their humanity are never forgotten.
May Hannelore’s memory be a blessing.
May her spirit live on in every child’s laughter.
And may we never forget the girl who loved her red tricycle.