Martin Sloan collection

Martin Sloan was born Mendel Slomovits (Slomovitz) in Slatinské Doly, Czechoslovakia (now Solotvyno, Ukraine) on July 21, 1929 (or 1930; dates vary). His parents, Michel and Leah Slomovits, had eight children; they both perished in Auschwitz, along with five of the children. After arriving in Auschwitz on May 24, 1944, Mendel was assigned prisoner number A-7161 and assigned to forced labor digging ditches. In November 1944, he was sent to Buchenwald by open rail car and, likely, on foot, as he does not seem to have arrived in Buchenwald until late January 1945. He became one of the Buchenwald boys, a group of young boys who survived the camp. After liberation, he went to Italy, was in the displaced persons camp in Bari, and immigrated to the United States in May 1947 on the SS Marine Perch. He joined relatives in Cleveland and became an American citizen in 1957. Also in 1957, he married Harriet Greenfeld; the couple had three sons. Martin went into business as a car sales manager until his retirement to Palm Springs. He passed away in November 2001.