Born:
Łódź, Poland
February 2, 1937
Sara Silber was one of three children born to her parents in Łódź, Poland. Only two years old when World War II began in September 1939, Sara and her family fled from Łódź to Warsaw. Faced with ever worsening conditions, the family left for Piotrków paying their way with her mother’s jewelry. After Nazis raided their home, the family hid in the woods and were taken in by a Polish farmer. After being turned in by a Polish policeman, they were sent in a cattle car to the Pionki labor camp and ammunitions factory. Silber’s father and older brother were separated from the group and sent elsewhere. Meanwhile, Sara, her mother and younger brother managed to survive the Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps.
British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945. Silber’s brother died shortly afterward, being too weak and sick to recover. Silber and her mother were sent to Sweden to regain their health. There her father and older brother were able to reunite with the family. The group emigrated to Israel to start a new life and Silber had two younger siblings born after the war. Eventually Silber moved to Houston where she raised three children.
Parents:
Father, survived
Mother, survived
Siblings:
Brother, survived
Brother, d. Bergen Belsen, April 1945
Brother, b. postwar in Israel
Sister, b. postwar in Israel