Floris Kalman's Oral History

Wexler Oral History Project/ Yiddish Book Center

Floris Kalman, Holocaust survivor and daughter of Bundists, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on February 27, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. Floris Kalman, Holocaust survivor and child of Bundists, shares her memories of life in Brussels, Belgium before World War Two broke out. She remembers only knowing Yiddish and when her younger sister was born. Floris Kalman, Holocaust survivor and child of Bundists, talks about how she and her family stayed in contact despite being separated and in hiding during World War II in Belgium. Floris Kalman, Holocaust survivor and child of Bundists, explains how Yiddish is a part of her Jewish identity but something still felt missing. She tells the story of how she began with some religious practices and studying Hebrew. Floris Kalman, Holocaust survivor and child of Bundists, talks about understanding her experience as a hidden child as part of being a child survivor. She began to understand this after finding a support group of child Holocaust survivors as an adult.