Esther Feldman

Date of birth

12/24/1936

Where were you born?

Chelm, Poland

Name of father, occupation

Pinhaus Feldman, Tailor

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents, sister Cecilia, brothers Harry and Ray, and Esther

How many in entire extended family?

approximately 40 people

Who survived the Holocaust?

Parents, Cecilia, Harry, Ray, Esther, two uncles, some cousins.

Where were you in the Former Soviet Union?

Opalin, Lebivne, Ukraine; Siberia

What DP Camp were you after the war?

Boelke-Kaseme in Ulm, Germany

Where did you go after being liberated?

Back to Chelm, Poland

When did you come to the United States?

1958, went to Israel in 1948 and then to United States in 1958

Where did you settle?

Detroit, Michigan

How is it that you came to Michigan?

One daughter was in Detroit already with her husband and children

Occupation after the war

Hebrew school teacher

When and where were you married?

Detroit, Michigan

Spouse

William Icikson

Children

David and Leah

Grandchildren

Zachary, Joshua, Benjamin, Gabriel, Joseph. Great-grandchildren Talia and Kayla

What do you think helped you to survive?

Esther's mother was very strong and resourceful in saving her family. Her father did whatever he needed to do to save and provide for the family when he was not in prison in Siberia.

Interviewer:

Sid Bolkosky, Voice Vision Michigan Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive University of Michigan Dearborn

Interview place:

West Bloomfield, MI

Interview date:

10/23/2001