Paul Kreisman
"There should be peace in the world."
Name at birth
Falek Kreisman
Date of birth
11/10/1921
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Madyar Komyat, Czechoslovakia.
Name of father, occupation
Abraham,
Businessman, sold carpentry supplies, moved to the United States before the World War I and moved back to Europe to be with family left in Europe.
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Aranka (Golda),
Businesswoman, owned a fabric store.
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, Michael, Hai Surz, me, and another sibling .
Who survived the Holocaust?
Me and a cousin in Romania.
My family was sent to the ghetto in Mukacevo, Czechoslovakia, and then we were transported to a labor camp in Galicia, Poland (Ukraine). There, we worked chopping down trees that were used for buildings. At one point I escaped from the ghetto, but was caught in the street and sent to Romania.
At the end of the war, I found a cousin in Romania who survived in his own home. Afterwards, I returned to our family farm in Madyar Komyat, which became part of the Ukraine after the war.
In 1946 I married Serena Schwartz. We stayed in Ukraine with our children until 1969 when times began to be bad again for Jews. We immigrated to Detroit because I had some family here.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
Where did you go after being liberated?
I returned to my family farm in Madyar Komyat.
When did you come to the United States?
1969.
Where did you settle?
Detroit, MI.
How is it that you came to Michigan?
I had family here.
Occupation after the war
Bookkeeper.
When and where were you married?
1946 in Madyar Komyat.
Spouse
Sarah Kreisman (Serena Schwartz),
Cook at Borman Hall Nursing Home.
Children
Vera, hairdresser; Adela, pharmacist.
Grandchildren
Two: Jean and Kevin.
What do you think helped you to survive?
I was young and strong.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
There should be peace in the world.
Experiences
Survivor's map
