Isaac Greener
"You should not go through what we did."
Date of birth
03/10/1918
Where did you grow up?
Charnow, Poland
Name of father, occupation
Mordechai,
Butcher
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Chai Sorah (died when I was 10),
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, Ben (oldest brother), my twin brother Samuel and I, and our sister who died in the Holocaust
Who survived the Holocaust?
Ben, Samuel and me. Ben survived as a member of the Polish Army. Samuel survived, came to the USA for two years and then to Munich, Germany.
In Cracow, I was “A Schindler Jew.” I was once beaten for being found eating rotten potato peel from the garbage. I was liberated by the Americans. My brother Sam heard I was in Feldafing DP camp and joined me. I was married while at Feldfing and in 1947 our first son Morry was also born there. In 1949, my wife Genia, Morry, and I emigrated to the United States. We were also on the list for Israel and decided to go to whatever came first. Our boat was called “The General Balloon.” We came to Detroit because we had cousins here, Henry and Rose Greener. Our son Harry was born four years after Morry.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Feldafing, Germany DP camp
Where did you go after being liberated?
To the United States
When did you come to the United States?
1949
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan
How is it that you came to Michigan?
I had cousins here, Rose and Henry Greener
Spouse
Genia
Children
Morry, retired commercial real estate broker in West Bloomfield; Harry, works for Channel 7 as a TV Videographer, lives in Commerce Township
Grandchildren
Four: Morry and Susan have Adam and Melissa, Harry and Eileen have Bryan and Dayna; Four great-grandchildren: Adam has Maggie and Teagan, Dayna has Joey and Dylan
What do you think helped you to survive?
Hard work and luck. The will to live.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
You should not go through what we did.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/04/2011
Experiences
Survivor's map
