Bob Salomon

"Never give up even when things get bad. Look to family. Fight for what you believe in."

Name at birth

Heinz Erwin Salomon

Date of birth

03/03/1932

Where were you born?

Berlin, Germany

Where did you grow up?

Berlin until 1940

Name of father, occupation

Max Salomon, Baker

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Frieda Salomon, Homemaker

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents, three sisters and myself. Sisters: Wally,twelve years older than me, Hilde, ten years older and Irma, eight years older. Hilde had a son and a daughter, Wally had one son and Irma had two sons and three daughters

How many in entire extended family?

About 50 relatives

Who survived the Holocaust?

Only 11 relatives.

At the age of eight, my family left Germany by train. We traveled through Siberia to Japan and then by boat to Shanghai. I went to school and learned English until age thirteen. I then quit and learned to be a shoemaker from another survivor. My father was killed in an American Air Raid on July 17, 1945, four weeks before the war ended.

I remember being very hungry. I went to bed early because we had nothing to eat. We had a complete Jewish community of about 20,000 people with stores, clubs and synagogues.

In 1948, we were given permits to come to the United States. We landed in San Francisco and came to Detroit because we were told Detroit had jobs and you could earn a living. At 16, I went to Hutchins Junior High and enrolled in a course from Chicago to finish high school. I worked in a linen supply company from 1951-52. I joined the Army from 1952-54. Since I knew German, I was to be sent back to Germany to be an interpreter. I did not want to go but a wise sergeant asked me whether I’d prefer working in Intelligence in Germany or being a foot soldier in Korea. I went to Germany.

When I got out of the army, I worked in a lumber yard for twelve years and then in the Louis Ace Hardware store from 1975-2000. I retired in 2000. I married my wife, Lila, in 1956. We have three children and four grandchildren.

Name of Ghetto(s)

Shanghai Ghetto (Hongkew)

Where did you go after being liberated?

United States

When did you come to the United States?

1948

Where did you settle?

Detroit, Michigan

How is it that you came to Michigan?

We were told Detroit had jobs and you could earn a living

Occupation after the war

First a linen company until I was drafted by the US Army. I worked in a lumber yard for twelve years and finally a hardware store for twenty-five years.

When and where were you married?

October 20, 1956 in Detroit

Spouse

Lila, Worked in a law office and Oakland County (MI) Health Department

Children

Three: Marjorie, librarian; Deborah, bank investigator; and David, teacher

Grandchildren

Four: two boys and two girls

What do you think helped you to survive?

I credit my father for saving my life and that of my mother and sisters. Without his foresight, we probably would not have survived. We left Germany three months before the war with Russia started.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

Never give up even when things get bad. Look to family. Fight for what you believe in.