Mina was born 1926 and lived in Dzialoszyn, Poland.  At the young age of thirteen, she was captured and taken to a concentration camp.  Fortunately, at a young age, her mother taught her how to sew which gave the Nazis a reason to keep her alive, sewing uniforms. 

 

After liberation Mina was sent to a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Stockholm, Sweden.  There she met her future husband Henry Martin.  They married in 1947 and had a daughter Shirley.  Henry’s father had a sister who lived in Detroit since the 1920’s.  She sponsored them to come to America.  They came to the United States in 1949 settling in Detroit.  They lived in Detroit until 1961 then moved to Oak Park.

 

Mina’s sister Paula immigrated to Palestine right before the war.  Paula married Gershon Goldenberg and started a family in Ramat Gan, Israel.  

 

After the war, Paula assumed that her entire family in Poland had perished until she heard her sister Mina’s name mentioned as a survivor in a daily radio broadcast by the Red Cross. 

 

In 1959, Paula immigrated to the United States to be with her sister.  The two sisters stayed close always living within walking distance of one another.

 

Mina worked as a hostess at Stafford’s restaurant and later became a manicurist.  She was involved in B’nai B’rith and Shaarit Haplaytah survivor organizations and acted in Yiddish plays produced here in Detroit.  

 

Since her husband worked constantly, she raised the family and made sure they finished college.  She loved Jewish traditions and held them steadfast.  Because of her spirit the holidays were celebrated with much joy, as they continue to be, with our family today.  

 

Mina died when she was 59 yrs old in 1986.

When you marry be sure to marry someone Jewish, that's our best chance for our religion and traditions to continue.