Paulette Dorflaufer, Livingston’s stylish, congenial and attentive crossing guard, is called “Miss Paulette” in Burnet Hill School, where she shows her devotion to children in her role as a three-hour-a-day aide in the classroom, lunchroom, and playground.A few weeks ago, fourth grade teacher Julie Sonshine invited Dorflaufer to share with her class her story about surviving the Holocaust. At the time, students were reading nonfiction books about this dark period in history, and had questions about Anne Frank, Nazi Germany, and World War II. Dorflaufer, always willing to speak about her experiences and about the Holocaust, read excerpts from her book, told stories, and answered the children’s questions about her journey – from her rescue and life in a French orphanage as a Jewish child to her subsequent adoption and immigration to the U.S. aboard the Queen Elizabeth I in 1948. They asked if she remembered her parents and what schools she attended.“The children couldn’t get over the story,” Dorflaufer said. “They were happy I was there to tell them what I went through. They really listened.”Dorflaufer, born in Marseille, France, in 1943, was the youngest of ten children. When she was a year old, she told the children, “I was in the hospital. When the Gestapo came looking for me, A nurse rescued me, yelling ‘Give me back my daughter,’ who fortunately had the same name, and they threw me to her. I often tell my children, I am the chosen one.”She was put in an orphanage. “There the nuns took care of me,” she said. “Every time I see a nun, I have to hug them. We didn’t have much; an apple was a treat… The Jewish children had to hide underground when the Nazis came, and it was scary.”Dorflaufer’s book is a large, spiralbound chronicle of her life. It touches on the loss of her birth family; her experiences in the orphanage; her adoptive family; reuniting with several siblings decades after the war ended; sharing in “twin with a survivor” programs at various synagogues; her speaking engagements; official accounts of family members during the war years and after; and her beloved children and grandchildren.She recently updated the book to include letters that the students wrote her after she spoke with them. Many asked her more questions and invited her back, said teacher Sonshine. Several expressed sorrow that she “had to experience something so brutal,” as one student ...
