Sigmund Strochlitz (December 20, 1916 – October 16, 2006) was a Polish-born
Jewish American
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...
entrepreneur, political activist, and
Holocaust survivor
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
. He served on the U.S. President's Commission on the Holocaust and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council from 1978 to 1986, establishing the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...
. Strochlitz was the first chair of the council's
Days of Remembrance
''Days of Remembrance'' is a book containing authorized English translations of writings of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith related to nine Baháʼí Holy Days, namely Naw-Rúz, Ridván, Declaration of the Báb, Ascension of Bah ...
committee, persuading state and federal officials to hold annual Holocaust commemorations in all fifty state capitals and in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in 1985 and every year since. According to the ''
Encyclopedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
'', Strochlitz was a "major figure in institutionalizing Holocaust commemoration" throughout the United States.
Biography
Born in
Będzin
Będzin (; also ''Bendzin'' in English; german: Bendzin; yi, בענדין, Bendin) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula). Even though par ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, Strochlitz studied economics at
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
before
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
invaded Poland in 1939.
Between August 1943 and April 1945, he survived more than two years in
Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
, including fifteen months at
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
. His parents, sister and first wife were murdered in Auschwitz.
While living in Germany in 1945,
Strochlitz married Rose Grinberg (1913–2001), a fellow Polish-born Holocaust survivor.
They had four children (Jaime, Rafael, Halina, and Romana), fourteen grandchildren, and twenty-three great-grandchildren.
Emigrating to New York in 1951, Strochlitz sold automobiles on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
before purchasing a
car dealership
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...
, Whaling City Ford, in
New London
New London may refer to:
Places United States
*New London, Alabama
*New London, Connecticut
*New London, Indiana
*New London, Iowa
* New London, Maryland
*New London, Minnesota
*New London, Missouri
*New London, New Hampshire, a New England town
* ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, in 1957.
He built the business into a local institution and continued to run Whaling City Ford for almost fifty years until he died in 2006. Strochlitz's heirs inherited and expanded the business before finally selling it in 2020.
Strochlitz was a close friend and collaborator of
Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...
.
For many years Strochlitz functioned as "Wiesel's chief lieutenant, his eyes and ears."
During the 1980s, Strochlitz spearheaded an international campaign for Wiesel to receive the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
, lobbying numerous international leaders and heads of state. Wiesel became a Nobel laureate in 1986.
Strochlitz became a member of the Presidential Commission on the Preservation of Americans' Heritage Abroad in 1992. At various times he served as president of the American Friends of
Haifa University
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
, a governor of
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...
, a founding member of the American Society for
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
, a trustee of the
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
History
The AJCongress was ...
, and a member of the board of
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in New London, Connecticut. It is affiliated with Yale New Haven Health System. The hospital has been serving its region since 1912. Its primary regions include 10 towns ...
. Awards included the Elie Wiesel Remembrance Award (1986), the National Holocaust Remembrance Tribute (1986), and the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor
The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...
(1997). Strochlitz was appointed a Chevalier of the French Republic's
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
in 1993. He held honorary doctorates from
Connecticut College
Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...
, Haifa University, and Bar Ilan University.
Legacy
A philanthropist, he endowed the Strochlitz Institute of Holocaust Studies at Haifa University, the Strochlitz Judaic Teaching Fellowship at Bar-Ilan University,
the Rose and Sigmund Strochlitz Holocaust Resource Center of the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, and the Rose and Sigmund Strochlitz Travel Grants at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
.
References
External links
Oral history interview with Sigmund Strochlitz– United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Appearanceson
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strochlitz, Sigmund
1916 births
2006 deaths
Jewish concentration camp survivors
Polish emigrants to the United States
20th-century Polish Jews
Jewish American activists
American automobile salespeople
Businesspeople from Connecticut
People from Będzin
People from New London, Connecticut
Jagiellonian University alumni
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews