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‘The School That Escaped the Nazis’ Review: Field Trip to Freedom

Born in Ulm, Germany, Essinger was the oldest of nine children. At the age of 20, she accepted an aunt’s invitation to join her in America and eventually enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where she received her master’s degree in education. During her stay in America, she became so drawn to the humanitarian values of the Quakers that at the conclusion of World War I she joined a Quaker relief mission and returned to Germany as a liaison officer in charge of organizing hundreds of school kitchens to feed hungry children.