Teacher’s Grandfather fled from Holocaust

Teacher Carl Finer’s grandfather fled from the Holocaust and then after that came here to the United States, to Cleveland, Ohio. 

 After he survived the Holocaust, he came here to the U.S. he came here alone, as he lost most of his family in concentration camps.  A distant cousin, already in Ohio, offered to help him find work as a carpenter.  

“My grandfather, Samuel Weiskopf, was a Holocaust survivor and lost most of his family in Concentration camps,” said Finer.  “He worked first as a carpenter, making cabinets, and later opened a liquor store.” 

During his life, he had three wives. The first one died in the Holocaust. He met his second in a refugee camp and had his first kid there in the camp, before migrating here to the U.S. The second wife died here in the U.S at age 27 of a brain aneurysm [a burst blood vessel].  He met his third wife here in the U.S., who is Finer’s grandmother.

I wanted to know what was his life was before the Holocaust started and affected his life but Carl Finer didn’t really know much about his life prior to moving to the U.S.  

 “I don’t really know much,” said Finer, about his grandfather’s life before the Holocaust.  “He had a family and had a normal life like everyone else.” 

After that I asked, ” Did he have a career before  Holocaust?” Finer responded,” I heard different things. Mom said he was a rabbi and was also drafted for the war [World War II].” 

Lastly I asked him,” How did he manage to escape the Holocaust”. He answered, “He was in a work camp and forced to dig graves.  He survived doing labor” until his camp was liberated.