Egon Salmon (M / Germany, 1924), Holocaust survivor
Egon Salmon (M / Germany, 1924), Holocaust survivor
Edith Salmon / Edith Smith (F / Germany, 1933), Holocaust survivor
- KEYWORDS : <Germany> <MS St. Louis> <Refugees, Belgium> <Refugees, United States>
Biography
Egon Salmon (4 Jun 1924) and Edith Salmon (24 Aug 1933) were born in Rheydt, Germany. On Kristallnacht their father was arrested and sent to Dachau. When released, he moved to the United States. In 1939 mother and children sailed as refugees on board of the MS St. Louis. They were among those who disembarked in Belgium, but they were able to move to safety to the United States on April 15, 1940.
USHMM Oral Interview
Egon J. Salmon, born in 1924 in the Rheydt part of Dusseldorf, Germany, discusses his early life in Germany; the beginning of the restrictions for Jews in 1933; his family’s work in the textile business; how Kristallnacht was the deciding factor for their family to leave Germany; events on Kristallnacht, including the arrest of his father and his imprisonment in Dachau; the release of his father four weeks later; his father’s move to the United States, where he was turned away; his father’s move to Cuba; his father applying for entry visas to Cuba for the entire family; sailing on the SS St. Louis; the voyage; arriving in Havana and not being permitted to disembark; the formation of a passenger committee to relocate the passengers in different countries and Captain Schröder tried to help them; returning to Europe until he received a visa in March 1940 and left on April 15, 1940 by ship to the US; arriving in New York, NY and reuniting with his father; adjusting to the US; starting high school and being drafted before graduating; being assigned to the US Army infantry; being shipped to Spartanburg, South Carolina where he was trained for combat; becoming a citizen before he was sent overseas; being sent to North Africa; being sent in 1943 to Naples, Italy, where he remained until 1945; the antisemitism in his unit; the end of the war and being placed in a unit of occupation in Austria for nine months; returning to the US; the fates of his extended family; his feelings that having been aboard the SS St. Louis affected his life; and his belief that he survived due to his father’s actions and good luck.