A Death Camp Marriage Endures – 75 Years Later

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By Shira Hanau, Thea GlassmanFebruary 16, 2017

75 years ago, Isaac Blum saved his sweetheart from being sent to a Nazi death camp.

“I saw Roza The New York Times. “I went up to the German and told him, ‘That’s my sister,’ even though she was my girlfriend.”

The soldier, seeing that Roza was able-bodied, decided to send the pair to a work camp instead. There, they labored for long hours, he as an electrician, she as welder. They shared only a few minutes a day together.

The two decided to get married during the war, despite the uncertainty of their future.

“We didn’t know if we were going to live, so we wanted to be together,” Isaac said.

Today, they live in New York City, and say they love each other despite their quarrels. She makes him his favorite soups and he affectionately calls her “old one.”

When asked why he risked his life to save his teenage love, Isaac’s answer is simple. “I wanted to be with her,” he said.

Thea Glassman was an associate editor for the Forward. Follow her on twitter @theakglassman.

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