Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Salvatore and Lili Katan - August 18, 1981

Life in America

LK: So, we decided to come to America. ??? but the mean time ???

SK: ??? tell, "You can go now"

LK: ??? and I had my babies, so I had my babies and I came to ???

SK: ???

You had twins?

LK: Yeah.

How did you get to Detroit?

LK: ??? we had an affidavit to Indianapolis and ??? but we had very dear friends, who meet here Hungarians ??? who came from Budapest to Italy--I mean, we wanted to go to together to Israel but we lived in Italy together ??? and he was working also in ??? and they came to America a little before us and when they found out that we are here then they came to visit us to Indianapolis. At that time they lived in New York...

SK: New York.

LK: ...then they moved to Detroit and they called back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, "What are you doing there in Indianapolis why don't you come here to Detroit?" But I had a sister still in Italy and I didn't want to move until she come so my husband's boss gave an affidavit and send it to my sister ???, you know, to come here. So they came back to Indianapolis, so they stayed with us for about five months and then our friends from Detroit called and ??? at homes, you know? It wouldn't mean that you have to come here and look at homes and if they like it here, you will come so that's what happened. I came my brother-in-law here and ??? got me a job and we rented an apartment and my sister moved here. And after two years my husband said, "What are we doing in Indianapolis? Why don't we move to Detroit?" So I go to visit my sister ??? and I was always very close to her, I said ??? I think we have to ??? right now ??? and she was going on, and I was going on...

SK: ??? so...

LK: ...so ???

SK: I got a job there, we moved in.

Did you have any problems with finding a job?

SK: Where, in Detroit?

LK: ??? if you would be there you would be lucky because of separatism. If you were there you would be lucky because you were ??? because he was separated and he went through the most horrible time in Indianapolis.

SK: You know the president of the Jewish Federation there was ??? I don't want to mention.

LK: Anyway, so they ??? separated ??? in Indianapolis and they didn't separated ??? very, very, very hard time...

SK: ???

LK: ...so I tell you something, he was uh, very fortunate because he went into the ??? and he lot ??? a lot, including our friends even now...

SK: From Jewish from Russia, Russia. Jews from Poland, ...

LK: ...including our friends even now ??? moved to Detroit ???

[interruption in interview]


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