Sally Wasserman

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Sally Wasserman

• By Samantha Wasserman

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• Sally Wasserman was born in Poland in January
  1935
• Her parents were Toby and Itzak
• She had a younger brother named Vovek
• Because Vovek was so young during the Holocaust,
  he only knew ghetto life

Toby and Itzak, Sallys parents
Sally and Vovek
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• In 1939, Hitler started forcing Jews into ghettos
• Sally and her family were forced to live in the
  Dambrowa ghetto
• Conditions were harsh Sally was forced to live
  in an extremely crowded room, food was very
  scarce, and winters were extremely cold

23 members of the Broda family. Only two of these
people survived the Holocaust.
Itzak, Toby, Sally and Vovek, along with friends
of the family, taking a walk.
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• While living in the ghetto, Sally met a man named
  Mr. Turkin, a Christian man who was allowed
  inside of the ghetto
• Mr. Turkin befriended Sally, and smuggled food
  into the ghetto for her
• Mr. Turkin felt that, as a person who retained
  humanity, he had to do something to help Sally

Toby with Sally and Vovek in 1939.
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• Mr. Turkin proposed to Toby, Sallys mother, that
  when the Dambrowa ghetto was liquidated, he would
  take her in with him and try to save her life
• When the ghetto was liquidated, Sally walked out
  of the ghetto to the Turkins apartment, where
  she lived in hiding for two years
• Her mother, father, and brother were murdered in
  the Auschwitz gas chambers

Toby, Vovek, and Sally, along with some cousins
and friends. This was the last picture taken of
Toby and Vovek.
Toby and her brother Moishe
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• Sally lived in hiding with Mr. and Mrs. Turkin
  for 2 years
• Sally had to make sure to remain extremely quiet
  so that nobody would hear her
• The Turkins had to share their food with Sally as
  well
• Had the Nazis discovered Sally being hidden, she,
  the Turkins, and their entire family would have
  been shot

Sallys parents along with friends and family in
1933. Nobody in this photo survived the Holocaust.
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• In 1945, Hitler committed suicide and soon after,
  the war finally ended
• Sally soon discovered that her family had not
  survived the Holocaust
• Mr. Turkin felt that there was no future for
  Sally in Poland, and eventually decided that
  Sally had to come to Canada

Members of Sallys family that survived the
Holocaust.
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• Before Sallys mother died, she had written a
  letter to her sister in Toronto, Canada, which
  she had given to Mr. Turkin along with some
  photos and an address
• Mr. Turkin hid this letter and the photos until
  after the war, when he sent it to the Red Cross
• Sally was put in a group of refugees

This photo was taken in the Bergen-Belsen DP camp
in 1946.
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This is the letter that Sallys mother wrote to
her sister before she died in Auschwitz.
This is an English translation of the letter.
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• It took a year until Sally made it to America
• On January 16th, 1947, Sally arrived in New York
  City on a boat along with 91 other Holocaust
  survivors
• Sallys aunt came to New York and took her to
  live with her in Toronto

Sally and 91 other orphans of the Holocaust
boarded this ship on January 3rd, 1947. They
arrived in New York City on January 16th.
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• Coming from Poland to Toronto was a big change
  for Sally
• At first she was unhappy and upset
• At school, she met Ms. Macdonald, one of her
  teachers
• Ms. Macdonald became Sallys friend and mentor,
  and helped her adjust to life in Canada
• They remained friends for 27 years

This photo was taken in New York City in January
1947.
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• Oral history is an extremely important aspect of
  learning about the holocaust.
• By listening to people who experienced the
  holocaust firsthand, we can get a better, more
  thorough understanding of what went on during the
  Holocaust.
• We also learn about these peoples stories, and
  gain the knowledge that we need to prevent
  horrible events like the Holocaust from ever
  happening again.

A book containing the experiences and stories of
many Holocaust survivors.
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The End
I would like to say a huge thank-you to Sally
Wasserman for taking the time to tell me her
story. I hope that people can take away from this
story and have a better knowledge of the
Holocaust from learning about Sallys story.