Lola Pines
"Have a strong will, be smart and well educated. Don't give up and believe in yourself."
Name at birth
Laja Mintz
Date of birth
05/04/1922
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Lodz, Poland
Name of father, occupation
Yankel Mintz,
Owned a textile factory
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Ethel Wolfowicz,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and ten children: Frieda, Rose, Hancha, Genya, Renya, Sala, Dora and me
How many in entire extended family?
52
Who survived the Holocaust?
Dora and me
I had graduated from school and was working in the family business when the war started. The factory was taken from the family. My parents fled to Skarzysko with the younger children, the older children went back to Lodz. There they were taken to the Lodz Ghetto. I worked in a factory in the ghetto and was later transferred to an ammunition factory in Czestochowa. I survived there until I was liberated by the Russians.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Yes, in Landsburg, Germany
When did you come to the United States?
Came to Detroit in 1949
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan
Occupation after the war
Cook
When and where were you married?
1945 in Landsburg DP camp
Spouse
Max Pines,
Sheet Metal Technician
Children
Esther Tal, administrative assistant Jack Pines, physician
Grandchildren
Three
What do you think helped you to survive?
I was able to work. It was a miracle and I had the will to live.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Have a strong will, be smart and well educated. Don't give up and believe in yourself.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
09/18/2003
Survivor's map
