[Cz-L] From today's paper

I thought this might be of interest to all the Czernovitzers.

Obituary: Pearl S. Fichman / She wrote her memories of the Holocaust
March 10, 1920 - Oct. 7, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
By Lynda Guydon Taylor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pearl S. Fichman, a onetime language teacher who thought it important the
Holocaust not be forgotten, wrote a memoir recounting her personal experiences.
Mrs. Fichman, a native of Romania, died of breast cancer Saturday at Forbes
Hospice in Oakland. She was 86.
She led an intellectual life teaching language and translating in New York
after immigrating to the United States in 1947, said her son, Mark Fichman of
Squirrel Hill. She spoke English, German, French, Romanian, Hebrew and a
smattering of Russian.
She earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Czernowitz in Romania,
where she was born, and a master's in comparative literature at Columbia
University.
Mrs. Fichman immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1947. In
1950 she moved with her husband, Yehudi David Fichman, who is deceased, to
Israel, where they lived for seven years before returning to the states. In 1999
she moved from New York to Pittsburgh to be closer to her son and
grandchildren in Squirrel Hill, Mr. Fichman said.
Moved to relate her Holocaust experiences, Mrs. Fichman wrote "Before
Memories Fade" in 1989.
"She had an extraordinary memory. She remembered everything," Mr. Fichman
said.
She was born and raised in Czernowitz, which had a large Jewish population
at the time. But when the Germans took over, about 95 percent of the Jews were
forced out, leaving a small number to run the town, Mr. Fichman said. His
mother and her parents were among those permitted to stay. The Germans left and
the Russians took control. She lived a rather normal middle-class life up
until the age of 17.
Although she avoided the concentration camps, most of the people she knew
did not or were shipped to Siberia, Mr. Fichman said.
Although her son had the book copyrighted and took it to several publishers,
they declined because of the abundance of Holocaust memoirs.
He periodically made copies for friends and relatives. About a year and a
half ago, it was published through Amazon's publish-on-demand service.
Mrs. Fichman participated in a Barnes & Noble reading in April 2003.
"It was very important to her to remember things. She was willing and able
and enjoyed giving talks around Pittsburgh," Mr. Fichman said.
The privation during World War II was extreme, Mr. Fichman said, forcing his
mother's family to constantly scramble to get the necessary papers to
continue living where they did and to obtain the necessities of life.
Her book attracted the attention of several historians, including Sir Martin
 Gilbert, who wrote the official biography of Sir Winston Churchill, Mr.
Fichman said.
Mrs. Fichman also provided recollections of European poet Paul Celan to
historians and contributed to a play, "Selma," about the poet Selma
Meerbaum-Eisinger written by Fred Apke. The play was first produced in Germany, and Mrs.
Fichman's voice was used in conversation for the play's soundtrack.
Besides her son, Mark, she is survived by another son, Eytan Fichman of
Somerville, Mass.; and two grandsons.
Services will be held 11 a.m. today at Ralph Schugar Chapel, 5509 Centre
Ave., Shadyside. Burial will follow in Homewood Cemetery-Star of David Section.

Rae M. Barent
Researching ALPERN, HERER in Radauti and Vicovu de Sus Romania and Ukraine
ROSENBERG in Sloboda, Ukraine
JARMOLNEK (ALTERNATE SPELLINGS) Gardashevka, Ukraine
RAFULOVICI in Romania
Received on 2006-10-09 13:06:13