Blogier, Wekselman, and Wides families papers

Abraham Blogier (Abe, 1917-1974) was born in 1917 in Bedzin, Poland, to Moshe Blogier (d. 1924) and Perl Silberfenig. He had three sisters, Edith, Judith, and Chaia, and a brother Chaim. His father Moshe worked as an upholsterer.

His sister Edith (Esther, later Edith Wekselman, 1911-1990) married Benjamin Wekselman (Jumek, 1911-1975) in 1931, and their son Max (Meir, 1933-1951) was born in 1933. The family lived in Bedzin until the German-occupation when they were forced into the Bedzin ghetto. In 1941 Abraham and Benjamin were deported to the Gross Masselwitz forced labor camp. They were both subsequently transferred to Auschwitz, where Benjamin was a kapo and Abraham worked in the kitchen. They survived subsequent interments at Sachsenhausen and Flossenburg before their liberation at Dachau in April 1945.

After Abraham and Benjamin were deported to Gross Masselwitz, Edith began planning to escape the Bedzin ghetto. In 1943 she and her son went into hiding with the help of a Polish Catholic woman she befriended at work. They survived the Holocaust and were reunited with Abraham and Benjamin in southern Germany in summer 1945. They lived as displaced persons in Mindelheim and areas near the Munich area, where Max was active in the Maccabi youth soccer league. They immigrated to the United States in 1949. The family settled in Cleveland where Abraham worked for a time as a furrier. He met fellow Holocaust survivor Betty Wides and the couple married in 1950. They had two children: Mark and Rosalyn. Shortly after arriving in the United States Max was diagnosed with cancer, and he died at the age of 17 in 1951.

Betty Wides Blogier (1923-2014) was born Basia Wides on 22 July 1923 in Ukmerge, Lithuania to Mendel Wides and Reizel Milner. She had three siblings: Sonia, Ben, and Joshua. Her father owned a mill in Ukmerge. In 1940 Betty and her family were forced in to the Vilna ghetto. She was later deported to Riga and Stutthof. She was the only member of her immediate family to survive the Holocaust. In 1946 Betty immigrated to the United States with assistance by relatives of her mother who settled in Cleveland prior to World War II. She married fellow Holocaust survivor Abraham Blogier in 1950. They had two children: Mark and Rosalyn.

Benjamin Wekselman (Jumek, 1911-1975) ws born in Bedzin, Poland. He married Edith Blogier in 1931, and their son Max (Meir, 1933-1951) was born in 1933. The family lived in Bedzin until the German-occupation when they were forced in to the Bedzin ghetto. In 1941 Benjamin and his brother-in-law Abraham Blogier were deported to the Gross Masselwitz forced labor camp. They were both subsequently transferred to Auschwitz, where Benjamin was a kapo and Abraham worked in the kitchen. They survived subsequent internments at Sachsenhausen and Flossenburg before their liberation at Dachau in April 1945.

After Abraham and Benjamin were deported to Gross Masselwitz, Edith began planning to escape the Bedzin ghetto. In 1943 she and her son went into hiding with the help of a Polish Catholic woman she befriended at work. They survived the Holocaust and were reunited with Abraham and Benjamin in southern Germany in summer 1945. They lived as displaced persons in Mindelheim and areas near Munich area, where Max was active in the Maccabi youth soccer league. They immigrated to the United States in 1949. The family settled in Cleveland. Shortly after arriving in the United States Max was diagnosed with cancer, and he died at the age of 17 in 1951.