Survivor Talk Sundays: Irene Miller

Every survivor’s story is unique and provides a special, first-hand account of life before, during, and after the Holocaust. Hearing from local Michigan survivors helps us see all the victims of the Holocaust as real people who had–and lost–family, friends, and communities. Please join us on Sundays to listen to a survivor speaker.

Irene Miller

Irene Miller was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1932. When Germany invaded Poland, Irene’s family tried to flee to the Soviet Union and was stranded for several weeks in “no man’s land.” They made it across the Russian border and were later deported to Siberian labor camps, where they suffered from hunger and exposure. In 1942, they were set free and went to Uzbekistan, where they continued to struggle to survive and where her father died in an epidemic. Irene and her sister were sent to an orphanage to avoid starvation. After the war, Irene returned to Poland and lived in a Polish orphanage for 4 years before immigrating to Israel. In Israel, at the age of 18, she married a man from Detroit and a few years later immigrated to the U.S.

“Only in a country where all minorities have full rights and freedom can Jews as one of the minorities have all of their rights safeguarded. Become active towards this objective, don’t just be a bystander with good intentions; promote justice, tolerance, and diversity.”