Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 2001

About Illo Heppner

Illo L. Heppner was born in Berlin, Germany. She was a Holocaust survivor of the Shanghai Ghetto, where she married Ernest G. Heppner. After the war, upon liberation, she worked as a USA War Department civilian in Shanghai and Nanjing, and was awarded the civilian Commendation Ribbon for meritorious service. She worked for Equitable Life Assurance Society for 26 years, retiring in 1984. Heppner was active in resettlement of Jews from the former Soviet Union and taught English as a second language to Russian immigrants at the Jewish Community Center as a volunteer for 20 years.

She was a speaker at several national and international conferences concerning the Shanghai Ghetto and her articles on the subject have been published in numerous journals. A member of Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, she was active in social action programs at the Temple. She was a member of Women of Reform Judaism, Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Interfaith Alliance.