Sam Wohl
"Never forget that you are a Jew and be proud of it. "
Name at birth
Sam Wohl
Date of birth
02/01/1917
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Steavnik, Czechoslovakia
Name of father, occupation
Joseph Wohl,
Businessman
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Ann Wohl,
Homemaker
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents and nine children
How many in entire extended family?
100
Who survived the Holocaust?
Father, Joseph Wohl; sister, Bertha Wohl Friedman, Sam Wohl
Sam Wohl was drafted into the Slovak Army in 1941. The Jews were taken from the Slovak Army and were required to wear blue uniforms and navy caps. All non-Jews wore green uniforms and carried guns.
The Jewish soldiers were required to carry shovels to build highways. They were stationed in Dvaryanka until March 1943. When the Slovak Army was liquidated to Germany, Sam ran away with Gentile papers. He worked for a wealthy German as a chauffeur/stable boy. Sam had horses at home before the war and knew how to care for them. The German did not know that he was Jewish at the time. One evening Sam drove the German to a bar where he subsequently became very drunk. Upon his leaving the bar, the German told Sam that he knew who he was and what he was, a Jew, but he promised to take good care of him.
That night, Sam ran away and was apprehended by the Russians. He went before a Russian judge and was sentenced to exile in Siberia. Sam stated that he was a Jew. The Russian judge warned him to get rid of the uniform and leave the country.
Sam wound up in Paris, France to be with his cousins for six-seven months. Sam had received a low number that allowed him to come to the United States earlier than others. In 1946, he arrived in Detroit, Michigan to be with his sister, Bertha Friedman.
Where were you in hiding?
Sudetenland
When did you come to the United States?
1946
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan
How is it that you came to Michigan?
In 1946, he arrived in Detroit, Michigan to be with his sister, Bertha Friedman.
Occupation after the war
Carpet cleaner, owned Sam's Carpet Cleaners
When and where were you married?
Detroit, Michigan on March 11, 1951
Spouse
Lillian Gottlieb Wohl,
Homemaker
Children
Milton Wohl and Arlene Wohl Millman
Grandchildren
Joshua and Daniel Wohl; Bradley and Rebecca Millman
What do you think helped you to survive?
Perseverance
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
Never forget that you are a Jew and be proud of it.
Interviewer:
Biography given by Sam Wohl’s daughter, Arlene Wohl Millman, August 19, 2013
Interview date:
09/05/2022
Survivor's map
