Name at birth
Tzvi Hirsch
Date of birth
09/08/1912
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
Kovno, Lithuania
Name of father, occupation
Dov, Owned a textile company called Fortuna
Maiden name of mother, occupation
Zilpa
Immediate family (names, birth order)
Parents, Harold, Ettie and Fania
Who survived the Holocaust?
Ettie and me
I was a medical student in Berne, Switzerland until the Soviets came in and took over the family business in Kovno. Without a business to support the cost of medical school, I came back to Kovno in the mid 1930’s.  I was moved to the Kovno Ghetto in 1941 and remained there until my escape in 1944 just before the ghetto was liquidated.  I escaped with Sylvia Perlman and a group of others. 
 
We escaped because a guard thought Sylvia was quite beautiful and told her the Russians were coming and that the ghetto would be burned to the ground with all those remaining in it.  If Sylvia would meet him at the Café Konrad in Kovno he would allow her to escape.  While her family had already perished, she told him she would meet him, but would only escape with her family members and then passed off a number of people as her mother, father, brothers and sisters.  
 
I was passed off as Sylvia’a deaf mute brother since my accent was slightly different from hers.  The guard allowed us to escape before the ghetto was liquidated but of course, Sylvia never met him at the Café.  Instead Sylvia, the others, and I hid in the fields and stables until the Russians liberated the area.                                 
Name of Ghetto(s)
Where were you in hiding?
Fields and stables around Kovno
What DP Camp were you after the war?
Yes, St. Ottlien
Where did you go after being liberated?
Traveled across borders until finally reaching St. Ottelien and eventually Dresden
When did you come to the United States?
July 17, 1947
Where did you settle?
Detroit, Michigan
Occupation after the war
Building Contractor
When and where were you married?
Married to Sylvia in the Kovno Ghetto and then to her three more times because other governments did not recognize the marriage and also wanted to be married by a Rabbi.
Spouse
Sylvia (Tsila) Grynberg Perlman
Children
Zina Perlman Kramer, marketing consultant Anita Perlman Zicherman, nursery school teacher
Grandchildren
Three: David Kramer, Lisa Kramer, and Bradley Zicherman
What do you think helped you to survive?
The will to survive and the love of my wife.
Interviewer:
Charles Silow
Interview date:
04/04/2011

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