“Kurt Mayer's autobiography "My Personal Brush with History" is quite simply, a book that needs to be read, for it is set with precision in the troubling historic landscape of the Holocaust and the challenge of the American immigrant experience., It captures with eloquence a powerful story of significant achievement in both business and community affairs, and it offers a compelling narrative of life as a great unfolding journey that ultimately finds meaning in family, relationships, and philanthropy. Kurt Mayer's experience has not in any sense been easy, but his ability and determination, his eye for opportunity, his courage and faith have writ a tale of a life that matters-- so it is that his "Personal Brush" is a worthy manifesto for both possibility and hope!”
Dr. Loren J. Anderson, President Pacific Lutheran University
Mayer, now 80, came to America with his parents as a 10 year old Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany on one of the last ships to leave Europe. Many of his family members perished in the Holocaust.
He eventually settled in Tacoma and in 1957 established the first volume home-building company in the area. The company, now known as Mayer Built Homes, specialized in subsidized and affordable housing. Mayer operated the company until 1981, building thousands of single-family homes and multi-family apartment units in Washington, Idaho and Colorado. Today the firm is operated by Mayer’s son, Joe.
“When my generation passes there will no longer be eyewitnesses to an event that may yet be defined as the greatest crime in modern history,” Kurt Mayer wrote. “I am telling my story because we must continue to learn from the lessons of the past.”
Mayer was the first person of the Jewish faith to serve on PacificLutheranUniversity’s Board of Regents, serving from 1995 to 2005. He was instrumental in the development of the university’s Holocaust Studies Program
Excerpt
I constantly sensed my parent’s desperation. If they could get me to England, they would commit suicide.
Adolf Hitler’s dreams nearly ended those of 10-year-old Kurt Mayer. Hitler sought a “Judenfrei” world (free of Jews) and gradually, over a seven-year period from 1933 to 1940, Kurt and his family became noncitizens, robbed of all material possessions and living in fear for their very lives.
My earliest recollection goes back to age six. My mother took me to my first day in school. We were no longer able to go to public school, so the rooms in the synagogue, which was two blocks from where we lived, were converted into classrooms. Our rabbi was head of the school. There were probably 10 or 12 children in my first and second grade classes. I only know of four including myself who survived.
Despite Hitler’s ultimate defeat, by 1945 millions of Jews had been killed including one and a half million children. Nazi propaganda had portrayed a racial struggle between Aryans and Jews as the driving force in history. The murder of children was justified by calling them a kind of “germ cell,” which had to be destroyed for this war to be won.
Professional Reviews
Dr. Christopher Browning
“How did German Jews who were fortunate enough to escape Nazi Germany before the mass killing began and reach the United States as a land of refuge cope with the challenge of building new lives? Kurt Mayer’s fascinating autobiography illuminates both the devastating effect this experience of uprooting had on his parents and the long shadow still cast by the Holocaust on his own eminently successful business career and family. This insightful and reflective book demonstrates the impact of the Holocaust on four generations: the destroyed lives of his murdered grandparents and uprooted parents, his own life of struggle and accomplishment, and the philanthropic turn encouraged by his children.”
David McDonald, former President and CEO Birds Eye Foods
“In my opinion, Kurt Mayer’s book should be required reading in every business school class. It proves that in spite of the worst legacy of disadvantages… new to the language... no extensive financial resources… nor a network into the business community; significant success can be achieved. A career topped off by personal effort to enrich the community.”
US Women's Soccer Coach, Colleen M. Hacker, PhD
"Reading this account of a man who transcends both physical and psychological upheaval and displacement brings new meaning to the phrase, "overcoming adversity". Larger than Holocaust Studies, Kurt Mayer's legacy is about perseverance, diligence and triumph. His book provides life insights that inspire and challenges readers to move from passive surviving into purposeful thriving.”
