Isadore Goodman
Originally from Bedzin, Poland, 35 kilometers from Auschwitz, Isadore Goodman (Isak Gutman) survived the Holocaust by escaping from Auschwitz-Birkenau. He had been a tailor for the Nazis while in the concentration camp. He was married with children but was the only person in his immediate family to survive.
Before the war, Isadore's parents owned an apartment building on a hill 4-6 stories high, near the only church in Bedzin. They were taken to Auschwitz and also did not survive. Nothing is known about the building since they were taken from their home.
After the war, he found his cousin, Hanka Rydelnik (Ann Sukiennik), in a displaced persons camp and married her. They moved to Munich, Germany to be with other surviving family members. It was in Munich where their daughter, Louisa, was born on October 10th, 1947. According to Ann's brother, Maury Rydell, the Goodman family did some work on the Black Market during the 1st World War. The discourse in family values caused tension in the family. Aside from starting a new life after the war, the family dynamics were very difficult, and the cousins were estranged for many years. In addition to having post-traumatic stress from their experiences during the Holocaust, they had to rebuild their lives, finding jobs and creating a new home. When Louisa was three, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee found a sponsor in St. Joseph, Missouri, who guaranteed that Isadore would have a job and a place to live. Once settled in the United States, the family moved to the bigger city nearby, Kansas City, Missouri, which had a larger Jewish community with more opportunities. They later moved to Overland Park, Kansas. Isadore opened I. Goodman Tailoring in Mission, Kansas. Isadore died of a heart attack on January 30, 1974.
