Roman Ziegler z”l
“…It was New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31st, 1942, in the forced labour camp, Brande. The sadistic Nazi Second in Command, woke the Jews up at the stroke of midnight commanding them to sing and dance...And the song they sang, was “Ve’ He’ Sheamda”, which states in every generation our enemies rise up to defeat us, but the Holy One will ultimately prevail. It was New Year’s Eve for the sadistic Nazi guard, but for the Jews of that camp they were observing the holiday of Passover and recalling its message of freedom.” (This story appears in Voices from the Heart: A Community Celebrates 50 Years of Israel)
Roman Ziegler was born in Dombrowa, Gornicza, Poland, in 1927, the youngest of eight children. He spent 31 months in slave labour camps, including Brand in Germany, Graditz, Breslau and Faulbruck. He was liberated on May 8, 1945 by the Soviet Army. Roman was the only family member, of his entire family, to survive. Roman immigrated to Canada in 1948. He met his wife Miriam, also a Holocaust survivor, on a blind date, and they were married in 1958. They have three children, all university graduates, and four grandchildren.
