Sophie Klisman
"No one should have to go through what I did at such a young age."
Name at birth
Zosia Teich
Date of birth
07/06/1929
Where did you grow up?
Lodz, Poland.
Name of father, occupation
Berek Teich,
Tailor.
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Luba,
Housewife.
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, brothers Srulek and Moniak, sister Fela (Felicia), and I.
How many in entire extended family?
My father had eight siblings. My mother had one sister who moved to Paris before the war.
Who survived the Holocaust?
My sister, one cousin who lives in Latvia, and I.
My parents and brother died in 1942 in the Lodz ghetto from starvation. From Lodz I went to Auschwitz in 1944 with my sister and brother. My sister and I went through the Selection. Sophie lied about her age in order to get through it. I then went to labor camp at Bergen-Belsen for six weeks and then to Saltz-Weidl where I worked in a munitions factory. I was liberated by the Americans on April 14, 1945.
Name of Ghetto(s)
Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Yes, Lumpertime (near Frankfurt), until 1949.
Where did you go after being liberated?
DP camp.
When did you come to the United States?
June 1949.
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan.
How is it that you came to Michigan?
A Jewish agency placed me, my sister, and my sister’s brother-in-law here.
Occupation after the war
I worked in laundry and went to night school at Central High School. I earned my high school diploma there.
When and where were you married?
1951 in Detroit. I met my husband at Central high school.
Spouse
Bernard Klisman.,
Factory worker, and then sales representative.
Children
Mark, a director of a lab at St Mary’s hospital, Lori Ellis, a speech pathologist.
Grandchildren
Four.
What do you think helped you to survive?
The will to live and to tell the story.
What message would you like to leave for future generations?
No one should have to go through what I did at such a young age.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/04/2011
To learn more about this survivor, please visit:
The Zekelman Holocaust Center Oral History Collection
https://www.holocaustcenter.org/visit/library-archive/oral-history-department/klisman-teich-sophie/
https://www.holocaustcenter.org/visit/library-archive/oral-history-department/klisman-teich-sophie/
Experiences
Survivor's map
