Ann Susel
Ann (Channa) Susel, a Holocaust survivor who had seven near-death experiences between the ages of 13 and 15, passed away March 20, 2016, in Denver. Rabbi Stephen Booth-Nadav officiated at the March 24 service at Feldman Chapel. Interment followed at Rose Hill Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
“Ann’s story is a supreme example of determination, behind-the-scenes divine intervention and the triumph over evil,” Rabbi Booth-Nadav said.
Channa Rietza Salomonowicz was born June 1, 1927, in Wieruszow, Poland, to Shmiel Hersh and Rifka Salomonowicz. The family moved to nearby Burzenin, a small village comprised of Jews and Poles, to run a variety store in the shtetl.
When the Germans occupied Poland, the community was transferred to the Droskalova Ghetto and later to the Lodz Ghetto, for three years.
Ann’s father and brother perished in the Lodz Ghetto, and her mother was murdered in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Ann, along with most of the young children, were rounded up in the ghetto and put on the first transports to Auschwitz. Upon her arrival, Josef Mengele ordered her to join the line marked for extermination.
A kapo warned Ann that the showers were actually gas chambers. Right before she was pushed inside the chamber, Ann begged an SS guard to let her live. Because she reminded him of his own daughter, the guard turned a blind eye and let her hide in a corner.
Then Ann snuck into the barracks at Auschwitz, where she was later reunited with her sister Hella.
Despite being selected for death two more times, Ann escaped. Inmates were amazed at her ability to avoid death and said that the angels were watching over her.
As the Red Army approached at the end of the war, the Nazis liquidated the camp and forced Ann and Hella to go on the infamous death march.
Ann convinced Hella to jump out of the line with her and hide in the bushes, risking immediate execution. They survived.
After going through five different Displaced Persons (DP) camps in several countries, Ann and her sister settled in a DP camp in Ainring, Germany.
This is where Ann met her future husband Shabtai (Samuel) Susel, who lost most of his family in what was eastern Poland.
They were married in the DP camp, where Ann gave birth to her first son in 1947.
Ann and Hella, their husbands and sons went to a DP camp in Bad Raichenhall, Bavaria.
A gifted actress and dancer, Ann performed the lead female role in the camp’s production of “Tevye the Milkman.”
In 1950, Ann and her family traveled on a freighter ship to the US. One year later, the family resettled in Denver, where Samuel had an aunt and many first cousins.
Ann worked several jobs to support the family. She was a seamstress for Miller Western Wear, an assembly line bread bagger at Star Bread Co., and a hostess/cashier at the Regency Hotel.
In April, 1953, Ann gave a dramatic performance in memory of the six million at the Hebrew Educational Alliance. Rabbi Manuel Laderman chaired the solemn event.
In 1969, TV celebrity Art Linkletter produced a one-hour interview he conducted with Ann, who spoke about her near-death experiences in the war. It aired on CBS during Yom HaShoah week, 1969.
Asked about the show in 2003, Linkletter said, “I’ll never forget that interview.”
Samuel Susel passed away on Nov. 5, 1998.
Despite the psychological pain that plagued her every day after Holocaust, Ann managed to make the most out of her life.
She regularly hosted a large number of friends, most of them survivors, at her home, and was regarded as one of the best cooks of traditional Jewish food in town.
Ann Susel is survived by her children Irving (Gail Goldberg) Susel of Bethesda, Md., and Joel Susel of Denver; and grandchildren Elliot Susel, Jeremy (Maggie Goddard) Susel, Becky (Harry) Saag and Zack Susel.
Contributions may be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center, www.splcenter.org.
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
