A Residents' Profile:
Heinz and Marianne Wallenberg

A NEW COUNTRY, A NEW LIFESTYLE

At the young age of 89 and 95 respectively, Marianne and Heinz Wallenberg are starting a new life, in a new community, far from the country they called home. For 60 years, this Jewish couple lived in Bogota, Colombia where they built a life for themselves after leaving Germany in the early 1930's. They raised a family, earned a living and had a close circle of friends, but decided that the time had come in their lives when they should be near their sons, who had moved to the United States.

Marianne was born in Berlin, Germany and went to school there. In 1932, she finished high school and registered at the Technical University to begin studying to be a physicist. On April 1,1933, the boycott of Jewish businesses began and Marianne decided, at the age of 19, she would not be able to fulfill her dreams in Germany. She went to live with relatives in Holland and gave up her studies because attending theuniversity there was too expensive. She became a lab technician and then was told that, as a foreigner, she wasn't permitted to work in her field. Temporarily, she worked nanny for a family with eight children. She returned to Germany twice for short periods of time and fell in love with Heinz during one of her visits there. She eventually left Holland to find work in her profession in the Dutch East Indies. "I loved living in the Dutch East Indies because it was a wonderful country. I was living with two teachers who were my age. I had found a job as a chemist and was saving every penny so that I could eventually be with Heinz," says Marianne.

Heinz was a resident of Danzig, which was part of the free city of Germany at the time and later became Gdansk, part of Poland after World War II. Because of his Danzig passport, Heinz was able to leave Germany easily. His two brothers had gone to live in Colombia, so that's where Heinz went too. Marianne and Heinz made plans for her to leave the Dutch East Indies to join him in Colombia. It would not be so easy for Marianne. The Colombian government was not letting unmarried girls into Colombia because they feared they would enter as prostitutes. A visa for Marianne was repeatedly refused. The only way to get her into the country was if she and Heinz were married. So Marianne and Heinz were married by proxy. "Heinz always teases me that he isn't sure that we were really ever married. There was no wedding ceremony to prove it!" chuckles Marianne. It would take another year of dealing with bureaucracy after their marriage before Marianne would finally join Heinz in Colombia.

MAKING THE MOVE

For 50 years, Marianne taught adults how to speak English at the Bi-National Center in Bogota. She just stopped teaching two years ago. Heinz, meanwhile, worked as a commercial artist for an advertising agency for 30 years. Prior to coming to Colombia, Heinz had honed his skills as an illustrator and produced drawings used in two volumes of biblical stories and completed numerous paintings in synagogues in Germany. Heinz created over 200 paintings, which their son Danny hand-carried to the United States when the Wallenbergs decided to move to Selfhelp. Their decision to move to the United States was prompted by their two sons; Frank who lives in Dallas, Texas and Danny, who lives in Skokie, Illinois.

"Colombia was home to us for 60 years, and the decision to move at our age was difficult. However, we knew it was important for us to be close to our family," explains Marianne. "Danny realized immediately when he saw Selfhelp that this was the right home for us. He was right. We are very comfortable at Selfhelp and have adjusted much better than I would have thought. Many of the people who live here have a similar background to ours and it was easy to fit in. We still feel very independent, but we can get help when we need it, and for that, I am grateful," Marianne says. The Wallenbergs' son, Danny was primarily responsible for finding a place for his parents to live in the United States. Danny's brother, Frank, had just taken a job in the United States and relocated here. Danny had already been living in Skokie for 15 years and was familiar with the country. It made sense for Heinz and Marianne to move to Chicago, where Danny was already established. "We had friends that were connected with the Council for the Jewish Elderly and they recommended Selfhelp to us because she felt my parents would be most comfortable there. The process of moving my parents to Selfhelp actually started about two years ago. We had a very positive impression of Selfhelp when we visited and felt that the people were caring and that the staff related well to the residents. I had also performed at the home and everyone I talked to seemed very happy, so this helped when it came time to make a decision," explains Danny.

The process of relocating the Wallenbergs to the United States proved difficult and it took over 1 1/2 years for the paperwork to come through. Complicating matters was the fact that Heinz had changed his name to "Enrique" when he moved to Bogota and his passport and other official documents listed him under that name. However, his birth certificate listed him as "Heinz" and there was never any official documentation filed of his name change. Therefore, affidavits were needed to verify that "Enrique" and "Heinz" were the same person.

Getting the paperwork in order was just one piece to the puzzle. Helping his parents prepare for the move was another step. "The unknown of uprooting them at this stage in their lives was frightening to us. But my parents have been incredible. They took care of their household matters by discarding items that weren't important and donating furniture and personal items they would not be taking along. They even reduced the size of their photo albums in preparation for the move," explains Danny. Over the years, Heinz created over 280 black and white paintings. Danny wanted to make sure they would survive the move, so he filled two suitcases with the small paintings and hand carried them to the United States. "I had to get permission from the Ministry of Culture in Colombia to take the paintings out of the country. It was a good thing I brought them over myself, because the container that had my parents' furniture from Colombia was damaged during shipment and they might have been lost," explains Danny.

Heinz is also keeping busy. Danny is a professional musician and he has asked Heinz to help him catalog his music. Heinz is recording each composer and noting the title of each piece as well as the language it was written in. The couple also maintains their subscriptions to the New York Times and the Sunday edition of the largest newspaper in Colombia, El Tiempo, so they can remain current with what is happening in both countries and so Marianne can enjoy the crossword puzzle she does in Spanish.

The Wallenbergs try to participate in all the Selfhelp Home events and Marianne is even taking a computer class. "I am getting up at 6:00 a.m. now! There is so much to do. We are really enjoying ourselves," exclaims Marianne.

"I think this change has been very good for my parents," explains Danny. "They are more independent now and are living a much more active lifestyle at Selfhelp. My mother is out and about all the time, going to lectures and concerts or activities. They have adapted quite well. My wife and I thought my parents would depend on us socially. That isn't the case at all! They have quickly developed a circle of friends and are busier than ever," chuckles Danny.