Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Nathan Weiselman - January 1, 1985

So, I selected a suit that was not any special expensive, a cheaper suit, because I was thinking since it's, it's given to me, I, I should be reasonable, not to chose the most expensive. So, I took a suit that was very, very cheap and Ed Reisen had to come in. He said, "No, put away that suit." Because he was in this line of clothing. He said, "This is too cheap a suit for you." And he said, "Take the best and don't think whatever it costs." So, I finally, he said, "From this company would be nice suits, like ??? clothing, and if try to see if it fits you." So, I got a suit and um, I was surprised. I said, "How would I pay for that? When, when would you like, how long time I should pay out this." And then I said, he said, "This is all free. We have great pleasure that we can do that." So, I think the Jewish community in El Paso could show an example for other communities in not just for the Jewish community but for the, for the, even for the Christian world. I couldn't want, that I talk with Christian people, and they say that it never happened to them, such great gen...generosity as in the Christian people when their people, refugees coming from the, from the camps in the old country ??? after the war. And really, they taught me you can be proud to be a Jew, because only the Jews are, are so, you know, helping each other. LB: When did you uh, come to Las Cruces?

I stayed, when before I came actually to El Paso. When I was in the DP camp, in Italy. They, the Jewish community there, I would say, the ??? community, it was active in Italy. And they said that I can, I have right with my record, to be eligible to go the United States, but I, they would like to have a job for me before, it would be easier to, you know, ??? to work out if I have a job. So, they ask me what I am and I told them I am a tailor. And so they organized in El Paso with a big department store, Popular Dry Goods, which the president was at that time Adolf Schwartz, and that he would take me to work, that I will be on nobody's, uh, relief, just that, that I can make my own way. So, in about a couple days that I was in El Paso, I got a job ready and I went to work for Popular Dry Goods in El Paso.