Speaker Profiles

Born in Sapinta, Romania in 1929, Martin was 15 when his family was forced into a nearby ghetto and later traveled by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.  This was the last time Martin and his brother would ever see his parents, two sisters and two younger brothers.  Posing as a mechanic, Martin worked at several camps in Germany, finally arriving at Bergen-Belsen days before liberation.  He remained as a DP at Bergen-Belsen until his immigration to the U.S. in 1948.

Sherry is a member of Temple Beth El in Anniston, AL.  Among the members of the congregation were sixteen Holocaust survivors, all with unique stories about their life under the Nazi regime.  All settled in Anniston, finding safety and security in the Deep South.  After extensive research and publication of these stories, Sherry would like to share the lives of these amazing survivors with schools and community groups in the Anniston area.

Max was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1930.  When the Germans invaded ten years later, the family fled, taking refuge in a series of internment camps in Southern France. When his father and brother were sent to a work camp, young Max was sent to a series of orphanages and ultimately was placed on a remote farm in the French Alps, posing as a Catholic orphan.  Max's father did not survive, but he was reunited with his brother and mother after the war.  Max immigrated to the U.S. in 1948.

In 1939, German troops invaded nine-year-old Aisic's home town of Mogielnica, Poland and the terror began.  Aisic, his mother, brother and grandmother were herded into the Warsaw Ghetto where all but his mother perished.  In an attempt to save her young son's life, his mother arranged for his escape. At age eleven, Aisic was on his own.  Assisted by a Catholic priest, Aisic found refuge on a Polish farm. After liberation, Aisic immigrated to Israel where he fought in the War of Independence and met his wife.  In 1962, the family immigrated to the U.S.

Riva was seven-years-old in 1941 when the Germans occupied her village of Novaseletz, Romania.  The family fled to their grandparents' home nearby but were captured.  They were put on a train destined for Moghilev.  Riva was thrown from the train, ultimately arriving at a camp in Luchinetz. Here, she was rescued by partisans and taken to a Catholic convent where for two years she lived in a 6-foot bunker, never seeing the light of day. In 1945, Riva was liberated. She immigrated to Israel in 1948, met her future husband, and in 1962, immigrated to the U.S.

Esther's mother, Tobi Kamornik Gerson, lived in Szczcow, a small town in Poland.  She was only fourteen when the Nazis invaded.  The family was forced into the Lodz Ghetto and then deported to Auschwitz.  Tobi worked as a slave laborer in a munitions factory and was ultimately transferred to Ravensbruck where she was rescued by the Swedish Red Cross.  An uncle in New York brought Tobi to the U.S. after the war.  She and her older brother were the only surviving family members.  Tobi Kamornik Gerson passed away in 2008.

Denise's father, Roger Nathan Blum, was born in Brumath, France in 1920.  Encouraged by his parents, Roger left home at age nineteen, coming to Birmingham to stay with a cousin. Some of his family that remained in France were captured by the Nazis; others went into hiding.  In 1942, after being drafted by the U.S. Army, Roger returned to France where he was able to locate his immediate family with the help of the American Red Cross.  Roger Nathan Blum passed away in 2007.

Between 1942 and 1945, from the time he was seventeen until he was twenty, Max Steinmetz was held in captivity in at least five ghettos or camps where he slaved as a laborer.  Born in Târgu-Lăpuş, Romania, Max was the only member of his family to survive.  When he was liberated in 1945, his 6'1" body weighted only eighty pounds.  He immigrated to the U.S. in 1948.