United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Paul Strassmann was born on January 24, 1929 in Trenčín, Slovakia. His father was an army officer for Austria-Hungary in World War I. He joined the Hashomer Hatzair at a young age. His family went into hiding as Christians in late August 1944. His mother and sister, Ella, were discovered and sent to Ravensbrück. His father, Adolf, was caught by the Gestapo and sent to Sachsenhausen. Strassmann joined the Jegorov Brigade, a partisan group, in September 1944 and then the Czech Army in April 1945. He fought in Bratislava, Slovakia until the end of the war. He left Czechoslovakia just before the Communists took power, living briefly in Paris and London before immigrating to the United States in October 1948. He studied engineering, worked in information system, and served as a government advisor.
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The Paul Strassmann collection is arranged as three series: I. Biographical materials, 1940-1953, II. Photographs, 1940-1984 (bulk 1940-1945), III. Printed materials, 1940-1986 (bulk 1940-1949)
The Paul A. Strassmann archival collection consists of biographical materials, photographs, and printed materials documenting Strassmann’s partisan activities during World War II and the persecution, expropriation, and imprisonment of other residents of Trenčín, Slovakia, during the Holocaust. Biographical materials document Gejza Fried, Marek and Moric Grünfeld, Ernest Haas, Rozaliá Krčíková, Paul Strassmann, Jozef and Mária Tiso, Valerie Tausová, and Alica Pfeifferová. Gejza Fried materials include a release from the Žilina concentration camp, a working permit, and a postcard describing conditions at the Nováky concentration camp. Marek Grünfeld materials include his last will and testament and his death certificate. Moric Grünfeld materials include correspondence documenting the liquidation of his hotel business. Ernest (Arnost) Haas materials include receipts for identification papers and property handed over to the government; permissions to work, travel, avoid wearing the yellow star, and avoid deportation; and a requirement to register as a Jew. Rozaliá Krčíková materials include an exemption certificate allowing Krčíková to avoid wearing the yellow star and a work permit. Paul Strassmann materials include identification cards, permissions, and certifications documenting Paul Strassmann’s wartime service as a partisan. Jozef Tiso materials include notice of a special tax against Jewish property, coupons for installment payments, and a letter exempting Tiso from the tax because he was not Jewish. Mária Tisová materials include correspondence from the Central Office for Jews denying Mária Tisová’s requests to delay or be exempted from paying a special tax against Jewish property. This series also includes Valerie Tausová’s declaration of Jewish property and Alica Pfeifferová’s identification booklet. Photographs depict a Jewish labor battalion working on a military installation at Liptonska Hradok in 1940, a train ambush site near Opatová in 1945, and Paul Strassmann in 1945 and 1984. Printed materials include announcements of Holocaust‐era anti‐Jewish measures, Slovak periodicals, a memorial book including reproductions of documents and photographs, and excerpts from a history of armed Jewish resistance to the Holocaust.
Paul A. Strassmann archival collection