Nazi Persecution
Sam Weiss was born on November 27, 1929, in Velky Sevlush, a small town in Czechoslovakia. He grows up under the most difficult conditions after the annexation of the remaining Czechoslovakia. When his father dies in 1940, he helps secure food rations for the family. Since he has to wear the Jewish star, this is a challenging task, always associated with significant risk. On May 29, 1944, he is deported to Auschwitz with his mother and his six younger siblings. Only his older brother Arnim can escape to Hungary with forged papers between 1944 and 1945. Upon arrival, he is separated from his family and is the only one to survive the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. His mother and younger siblings are killed in the gas chambers. After his liberation at the end of the war, Sam Weiss begins searching for other relatives. He finds his father’s brother in Reichenberg and eventually discovers an aunt living in New York during his research. He spends the next two years in a Displaced Persons camp in Bad Salzschlirf, near Fulda, waiting for the opportunity to emigrate to the USA. On December 14, 1947, he has the chance to cross over with the military transport “SS Marine Tiger” thanks to a sponsorship. After an eleven-day journey, he arrives in New York on December 25, 1947. There he lives and works until he decides to visit his brother Arnim in Los Angeles in 1956. A year later, he travels to Mexico, where he meets his future wife, Margarita Weiss, née Malke, whom he marries within a few weeks. Together they return to Los Angeles and have two children. In 2013, Sam Weiss passes away at the age of 83 after a severe illness. The identification card is issued in the name of “WEISS SAMUEL.” He receives this on August 16, 1946, at the age of 16 in a Displaced Persons camp in Bad Salzschlirf. The term Displaced Persons was coined by sociologist and migration researcher Eugene M. Kulischer, referring to the involuntary departure from home and resulting “homelessness.”
D. P. Identification Card, 1946 (Reproduction)
