Morris Giman
"Israel is the only hope for the Jewish people to survive. Another Holocaust should never happen again. Sometimes a person can be strong as a lion and sometimes a person can be weak as a fly. Israel is a guarantee that it will not happen again, they can go and fight. They have weapons to defend themselves. "
Name at birth
Moshe Giman
Date of birth
07/17/1911
Where were you born?
Name of father, occupation
Wolf Giman,
Owned a mill
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Sara Feldblum,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and 7 children: Shlomo, Benjamin, Leah, Rochel, Gitel and Morris. Stepsisters: Perel and Shezel. I married my stepsister Perel before the war. We had a son, Hersh. Both died in the Holocaust.
How many in entire extended family?
20
Who survived the Holocaust?
Just myself and one cousin, Aaron Giman (now lives in Israel, changed name to Are Giavony)
In 1939, I ran away with my cousin and others to Russia. At the time, we felt that the men were specifically at risk. We thought that the women and children would be safe. At the Russian border, I refused to sign a pledge of loyalty to Russia and was sent to Siberia as a result.
I fled Siberia and trekked over the European continent to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. After the war ended, I was attempting to go to Israel. I went back to Europe because the Hagganah (Jewish paramilitary organization) asked survivors to help others immigrate to Israel. I met Rose, my future wife in Barletta Displaced Persons Camp in Italy. We had a child, Bill (Wolf, named after my first son and my father). My wife and son were very ill and sent to a hospital in Rome. We came to the United States in 1950.
Occupation after the war
Made orthopedic devices
Spouse
Perel Malka, first wife and Ruchel, (Rose) second wife
Children
Bill and Dorothy (Devorah Sura: named after maternal and paternal grandmothers)
Grandchildren
Two
What do you think helped you to survive?
Fled Siberia to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan until end of war.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Israel is the only hope for the Jewish people to survive. Another Holocaust should never happen again. Sometimes a person can be strong as a lion and sometimes a person can be weak as a fly. Israel is a guarantee that it will not happen again, they can go and fight. They have weapons to defend themselves.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
03/30/2011
Experiences
Survivor's map
