Alexander Kuhn
"If you have love in your heart, there is no room for hate. When Alex learned that he had a terminal cancer he stated to his family that this was not going to be a time of mourning. He said that if he had been told during the Holocaust that he would have another 60 years to live, he would have been so grateful and would have grabbed life. And he did. Alex loved life and lived it to the last. Dorothy Kuhn, Alex Kuhn’s wife. "
Name at birth
Shia (Shany)
Date of birth
11/20/1929
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Zollerluvr, Hungary.
Name of father, occupation
Mordechai Kuhn,
Ran a distillery.
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Gizelle Genot,
Homemaker.
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and nine children, two died in infancy.
How many in entire extended family?
Numerous cousins and grandparents. One grandfather was 92 when he was killed at Auschwitz, Yisroel Mayer Kuhn. My brother had a photograph of their grandfather in Hungary (photograph included).
Who survived the Holocaust?
One brother, Erno Kuhn and I.
During the Selection at Auschwitz, my mother and the young children were taken to one side and sent to the gas chamber to their deaths; my father and I went to the other side and were selected to live. We marched to Mauthausen. My father was later shot at there because the Germans said he was a spy and was passing secrets.
At Mauthausen, I continuously was made to carry, with other prisoners, heavy rocks up and down 216 steps. I was liberated at Mauthausen. Fred Friendly, former president of CBS News, was one of the liberators. My family reads a letter that he wrote about the Holocaust at everyone Passover Seder (Jewish ritual feast marking the beginning of the holiday).
I was sent to Vienna to await immigration to America. I however hated New York and asked to go to a small town, so I was sent to Detroit instead. I lived with a family, the Kaner’s, Martin Rose’s wife’s family. My future wife’s father brought me home from synagogue for a meal one time. Her brother and I became friends, and I eventually came to live with the Grossman’s.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where did you go after being liberated?
Vienna, Austria.
When did you come to the United States?
1947.
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan.
Occupation after the war
I worked in a men’s and women’s clothing store for Martin Rose.
When and where were you married?
September 9, 1951 in Detroit.
Spouse
Dorothy Grossman Kuhn
Children
Mark Kuhn, engineer Marla Weiss, medical transcriber Gloria Ruskin, human resources in a law office.
Grandchildren
Six: Rachel Ruskin, Julie Ohana, Alana Kuhn, Daniel Kuhn, Jordan Weiss, and Casey Weiss; One great-grandchild: Avital Ohana.
What do you think helped you to survive?
The will to live so I could tell this story to anyone who would listen. My wife, my daughter Gloria and I went on the March of the Living in Poland. I always wanted to say Kaddish (memorial prayer) on the train tracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau where I last saw my mother and siblings. And I did.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
If you have love in your heart, there is no room for hate.
When Alex learned that he had a terminal cancer he stated to his family that this was not going to be a time of mourning. He said that if he had been told during the Holocaust that he would have another 60 years to live, he would have been so grateful and would have grabbed life. And he did. Alex loved life and lived it to the last.
Dorothy Kuhn, Alex Kuhn’s wife.
Experiences
Survivor's map
