Georg Citrom
Georg Citrom was born in Oradea, Romania, on April 2, 1931 to Desiderio and Elisabeth Citrom. His father was a teacher in the local Jewish school and he had one older sister, Suzy. His family practiced modern Orthodox Judaism and he loved visiting his grandparents at their house in the countryside.
When the Oradea ghetto was formed in May 1944, the family was forced to move there and live in a small apartment. Just a few weeks later, they were deported to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, where Georg was separated from his parents and sister. Georg was selected to work on a farm, taking care of horses, where conditions were better than in the camp. In January 1945, he was sent on a forced march to Buchenwald, and he was liberated by American troops in April.
After he recuperated, Georg was sent with other refugee children to France through the Ouevre de Protection des Enfants Juifs (Organization for the Protection of Jewish Children). There, he reunited with his mother and sister, and the three continued on to Romania. He then immigrated to Israel, where he met his wife Elisabeth, a fellow survivor, when they were both detained by the British in Cyprus. In 1956, they moved to Sweden, where Elisabeth’s father and brother had settled after the war. They had two children, Evelyn and Joel, and six grandchildren, including Heschel graduates Tobias, Maya and Clara Citron. George passed away in September 2017.