World War, 1939-1945

Ann Federman was the next-to-youngest of nine children born to Miriam and Abraham Warszawski in Będzin, Poland. Only fourteen when the Germans invaded Poland, Ann spent the war in Parschnitz, a slave labor in camp in Czechoslovakia. After liberation, Ann was eventually reunited with her sister and two brothers. The family lived in the Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camps where she met her husband, Isak Federman. They came to the United States in 1946, settling in Kansas City, where they were the first Holocaust survivors to marry.

Ann Federman was the next-to-youngest of nine children born to Miriam and Abraham Warszawski in Będzin, Poland. Only fourteen when the Germans invaded Poland, Ann spent the war in Parschnitz, a slave labor in camp in Czechoslovakia. After liberation, Ann was eventually reunited with her sister and two brothers. The family lived in the Bergen Belsen Displaced Persons Camps where she met her husband, Isak Federman. They came to the United States in 1946, settling in Kansas City, where they were the first Holocaust survivors to marry.

Dora Edelbaum was the fourth of five children born to Hinda and Hersh Kiwasz. When Dora was 12 years old, the Germans invaded Poland. Shortly after the invasion the Kiwasz family was relocated to the Lodz Ghetto where Dora worked until her deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After being transferred through a variety of labor camps, Dora found herself in Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated in 1945.

Felicia Sussman was born in 1922 in Vienna, Austria. She enjoyed a comfortable life as the only child of her parents with a large extended family. Shortly after the annexation of Austria in March 1938, Felicia’s father was warned of his impending arrest and was able to flee to Prague. Felicia and her mother followed a few months later, making their way across the war-torn Sudetenland to be reunited. After a short time in Czechoslovakia the family was again separated with Felicia and her then pregnant mother fleeing to Italy while her father fled east into Poland, only to be later killed in Treblinka. Felicia’s mother eventually emigrated to England where she gave birth to a son and was imprisoned in an English interment camp as a foreign national. Felicia made her way to Portugal on false documents, eventually making her way to Ecuador where she met and married her husband, Victor Brill. The Brills emigrated to the United States in 1951.

Interview with Adolf Ridgway. Ridgway, born in 1890, discusses his family and early life in Arkansas, dropping out of school at the age of 6 to help his mother, picking cotton, coming to Kansas City in his late 1920s to work on the Santa Fe Railroad, and his memories of the two world wars and the Great Depression. He also shares his thoughts about past American presidents, the boxer Jack Johnson, leisure time activities, and working at other jobs, including North American Aviation.

Interview with retired newspaper proofreader and typesetter Agustin Rocha about his life. Born in 1912, Rocha recalls his early life in Texas and Illinois, his father's railroad work, moving to Iowa to work beet harvests, his education, and working for the Belmond (Iowa) Independent newspaper setting linotype. He also discusses moving to Kansas City circa 1940, working as a linotype operator as a drafted soldier in World War II, suffering a concussion at D-Day, and returning home to work for the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Kansan. He also shares memories of the 1951 Flood, participating in organizations including the American Legion, and his marriage and family.

Interview with retired Army Lieutenant Albert Bly. He discusses his father's and his own experiences as Black soldiers in the Army, the history of military segregation and integration, the limitations on advancement for Black officers, and shared stories about fellow soldiers Jackie Robinson and Joe Lewis.

Interview with World War II army veteran Albert Jones. Jones discusses being drafted into the army in 1943, joining the 10th Calvary, serving in North Africa and Italy during the war, and building bridges and maintaining supply lines. He also discusses the history of the 10th Calvary and the Buffalo Soldiers and conventions honoring that history.

Interview with Mo-Kan Minority Contractors Association founder Alexander Harris. Harris discusses his early life in West Virginia, leaving the state for Kansas City because his father didn't want his sons working in the coal mines, touring as a musician as a young man, serving as a soldier in the Korean War, entering the building trade with his father after leaving the service, and founding Mo-Kan, an advocacy organization for Black contractors, in the late 1960s.

Interview with boxing coach Arrington Bubble Klice. Klice discusses his family and background in Arkansas, early childhood in St. Louis, attending school in Kansas City, his involvement in sports including basketball and swimming, his memories of World War I and life during the Depression, working various jobs at St. Regis Hotel, recalls the nightlife and culture in the 18th and Vine neighborhood, and describes his start in boxing in California. He recalls training alongside champion boxers including Jack Johnson, shares his thoughts about other high profile boxers and athletes he coached as well as thoughts about the business and ethics of boxing, and discusses his time in the service during World War II.