Barbara Cohen
"Educate your children and grandchildren about the Holocaust. Remember the Righteous Gentiles who risked their lives to save us."
Name at birth
Basha Schechter
Date of birth
09/10/1941
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Bukaczowce, Poland
Name of father, occupation
Philip,
Lawyer
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Jean Hirsch,
Bookkeeper
Who survived the Holocaust?
Parents, six aunts and myself
I was a baby when the war broke out and was in hiding in Poland with my parents. Farmers hid us for a short while. Later, I went to Germany with my mother with forged ID papers. I was taken care of by a German Hausfrau (housewife) who later did not want to return me to my mother since she was childless. My mother pleaded for one last visit and ran away with me.
Where were you in hiding?
Poland
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Barbara and her mother were in a DP camp outside of Stuttgart, Germany after the war where they were reunited with Barbara's father
When did you come to the United States?
1946
Where did you settle?
New York and then Detroit
How is it that you came to Michigan?
Family friend was in Detroit and said there were better job opportunities in Detroit
Occupation after the war
Physical Therapist
When and where were you married?
Detroit,
Children
Two children - Debbie Gordon and Ron Cohen
Grandchildren
Two grandchildren
What do you think helped you to survive?
I was a baby, hidden by a German housewife. I survived because of bravery of my parents and our faith in G-d.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Educate your children and grandchildren about the Holocaust. Remember the Righteous Gentiles who risked their lives to save us.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
07/30/2008
To learn more about this survivor, please visit:
The Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, University of Michigan
https://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/cohenb/
https://holocaust.umd.umich.edu/cohenb/
Experiences
Survivor's map
