Group portrait of young people in the Landsberg displaced persons camp.
Overview
- Caption
- Group portrait of young people in the Landsberg displaced persons camp.
- Date
-
Circa 1945 - 1946
- Locale
- Landsberg, [Bavaria] Germany
- Variant Locale
- Landsberg Am Lech
- Photo Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Sylvie Mousseron
Rights & Restrictions
- Photo Source
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumProvenance: Sylvie Mousseron
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Biography
- Sarah Szoten is the daughter of Franka Litman (b. 1920 in Stawiszyn) and Salomon Szoten (b. March 6, 1919 in Lodz). Franka was the daughter of Lipman (b. 1889) and Sara Litman, and Salomon was the son of Fabien (Fajwel, b. October 16, 1886) and Gucia (nee Blachman, b. July 13, 1882) Szoten. Stawiszyn was a small town in Lodz region. In June 1942 Franka and her family were deported to the Lodz ghetto. There she met Salomon Szoten. She stayed in the ghetto until September 1944 when she was sent to Auschwitz together with her younger sisters Adele and Etka. Franka protected her sisters and helped them survive. From Auschwitz they were sent to Geislinger, Dachau and Allach. After liberation, Franka discovered that her brother Geniek also survived.
Salomon and his younger brother Aaron (Areck) were also deported to Auschwitz and then transferred to Dachau and its sub-camp Kaufering. They escaped three days before the Americans arrived. After the war Franka and Salomon reunited and married in Landsberg. Her sister Adele married survivor Issak Turk the same day. After the war Salomon worked for UNRRA helping families reunite. His uncle from Paris contacted him as he was looking for his son who shared the same name. Another uncle, Zurech Szoten, owned a general store in eastern France. He and his wife survived the war safely protected by a gentleman with the name of de Vendel and with the help of the entire village. With his uncle's help, Salomon and Franka crossed the border illegally, immigrating to France in 1946. Their daughter Sarah was born in France. Franka and Salomon spent the rest of their lives together without succumbing to either resentment or despair.
Though Franka and Salomon survived, much of their immediate family perished in the Holocaust. On July 5, 1944, Franka's father Lipman Litman, was deported to Chelmo where he perished. Her siblings Gutka (b. 1915) and Golda (b. 1918) and her brother Azriel (b. 1932) also died in the Holocaust. Gutka's baby also was killed in Auschwitz. Salomon's parents, Gitel and Faivel, were killed in Auschwitz on 8/23/1944.
- Record last modified:
- 2015-04-15 00:00:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1177508
