Cissi Klein

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cissi Pera Klein (April 19, 1929 in Narvik - March 3rd, 1943 in Auschwitz) was a Norwegian Jewish girl who is commemorated every year as one of the victims of the Holocaust in her home town in Trondheim. Her parents had emigrated to Norway from the Baltic states around 1905, at first living in North Norway, but then establishing a retail store in Trondheim.[1] She was arrested at her school - Kalvskinnet skole - on October 6th, 1942, detained, and ultimately deported with the transport ship D/S Gotenland from Oslo to Stettin, from which she was sent by train to Auschwitz, where she was murdered the day she arrived, on March 3rd, 1943. She was 13 years old.[2][3]

Cissi Klein became famous in her home town of Trondheim in the mid-1990s, when the city decided to appoint one of its 72 residents who were deported as a symbol for the persecution during the war. In 1995, a street was named Cissi Kleins gate (at 63°25′47″N 10°23′14″E / 63.429574, 10.38708), and a statue of her made by Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik and Tone Ekwas was unveiled in 1997. School children from her school visit this site on October 6th every year to lay down flowers in her memory. The composer Ståle Kleiberg has written a musical piece in her memory.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ City of Trondheim profile of Cissi Clein (Norwegian). City of Trondheim, Norway. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  2. ^ Jødisk museum i Trondheim. Cissi Klein, 13 år (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  3. ^ Leo Eitinger. Death certificate for Cissi Klein issued in Trondheim (Norwegian). Trondheim probate court. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  4. ^ Arkivmusic.com profile of Ståle Kleiberg (Norwegian). Arkivmusic. Retrieved on 2008-01-20.