What was life like in Vietnam? My mother and uncle ran a home-owned restaurant while I was in school as a 12 year old. Life was a struggle due to the poor economy. It was also extremely strict and we were not able to voice our opinions. We were forced to obey the government. Weather was hot and a lot ... Read More »
Vita was a young Italian woman who was born in 1934 and grew up in a small village outside Palermo, Sicily during the second world war. As a young child, she did not understand the severity of the war as the children of the neighborhood joked around with the German soldiers. One time, three Italian ... Read More »
My cousin arrived with news I no longer wanted to hear about. He told me my visa was approved and that I would be going to Hawaii. I told him I no longer can accept. The house I lived in was built by my Teti (dad). My teti was a sheriff and was very protective over our family. The island ... Read More »
Editor’s note: Slavery is an integral part of the American story and those who were forced to come to the US in chains, are no less immigrants than any other group. Not only was their freedom taken, but in many cases, their personal family history was lost. On this web site of immigration stories, we pick up their descendants’ story ... Read More »
It was the year 1920 and the 8-year-old Aly Solly ran up to the deck of the ship. She saw the huge magnificent, glowing, Statue of Liberty she was taken back in amazement. Never seeing something so huge and beautiful she looked over to her family and started to cry with joy and hope and pure happiness. She lived in ... Read More »
Helen Goudi was born in 1925 in the small village of Githio in the Peloponnese region of Greece. Her father died when she was three years old, leaving her mother to care for four children. After completing the fourth grade, Helen left school to support her family in any way she could. She harvested olives, babysat, and sang at events. ... Read More »
Recently, my brother Henry Fuchs received a prestigious professional award* and I had the pleasure of attending the ceremony. As I watched him being honored and celebrated by colleagues and students from around the world, I couldn’t help but think, he and I are members of a generation that wasn’t supposed to have been born. How many millions who were ... Read More »
Scroll down for the video story told by Alfred in front of an audience. The women and children were released. When they got home they witnessed a fire in the street in front of their home where locals had piled all the contents from the nearby synagogue and set them aflame. Alfred Kuhn was only four years old when his ... Read More »
I was born in North Korea and moved to South Korea when I was 7 years old. Although I was young, I remember it being a very difficult move. I studied home economics at the university where I met my husband. We got married and had 2 children. My side of the family was wealthy- they were pretty well off ... Read More »
My grandmother, Palomba Aroesta, was 26 when she immigrated from Paris to the US. Before living in Paris, she resided in Salonika, Greece where she was born in 1900 and lived until she was 7 years old. My grandmother was the youngest daughter in her family of 8 children, most of whom where already married with families of their own. ... Read More »