Charles Strassberg

"You have to be always watching what you’re doing and not believe everybody. Make an assessment; in the camps we had to make up our minds, it was very dangerous. Judge for yourself what’s good for you. "

Name at birth

Salo Strassberg

Date of birth

12/15/1914

Where were you born?

Vienna, Austria

Name of father, occupation

Joseph, Clothing salesman

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Helen Fall, Homemaker

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents, Max, Charles, Ella and Berthie

How many in entire extended family?

Who survived the Holocaust?

Two sisters and me

I ran away after Kristallnacht in 1938 to Belgium. I was married and had a daughter. My daughter and I went into hiding. Later, she went into hiding with other relatives.
To learn more about this survivor please visit the Holocaust Center Oral History Index.
https://www.holocaustcenter.org/visit/library-archive/oral-history-department/strassberg-charles-s/

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Auschwitz Birkenau / Bergen Belsen / Gurs / Gusen / Hanover / Laura Hutte / Mauthausen / San Cyprian

Where were you in hiding?

After Kristallnacht in Belgium

Occupation after the war

Barber

Spouse

Helen, Cashier at William Beaumont Hospital

Grandchildren

Three

What do you think helped you to survive?

My morale, I wanted to live. I knew my parents and wife were dead. I wanted to live, to survive. I do everything to live now thanks to my wife’s support.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

You have to be always watching what you’re doing and not believe everybody. Make an assessment; in the camps we had to make up our minds, it was very dangerous. Judge for yourself what’s good for you.