Cissi Klein

The park memorializing Cissi Klein in Trondheim, the statue of Cissi on the right

Cissi Pera Klein (19 April 1929 in Narvik – 3 March 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 6 October 1942, detained, and ultimately deported with the transport ship Gotenland from Oslo to Stettin, from which she was sent by train to Auschwitz, where she was murdered the day she arrived, on 3 March 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, the street where she lived was named Cissi Kleins gate (at 63°25′46″N 10°23′13″E / 63.429574°N 10.38708°E / 63.429574; 10.38708), and a statue of her made by Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik and Tone Ekwas was unveiled in the park nearby in 1997.[4] School children from her school visit this site on 6 October every year to lay down flowers in her memory. The composer Ståle Kleiberg has written a musical piece in her memory.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "City of Trondheim profile of Cissi Clein" (in Norwegian). City of Trondheim, Norway. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  2. ↑ Jødisk museum i Trondheim. "Cissi Klein, 13 år" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  3. ↑ Leo Eitinger. "Death certificate for Cissi Klein issued in Trondheim" (in Norwegian). Trondheim probate court. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  4. ↑ According to Vera Komissar, the homeless population in Trondheim have taken to ensuring that the memorial is clean and well-kept, often placing wild flowers in her lap.
  5. ↑ "Arkivmusic.com profile of Ståle Kleiberg" (in Norwegian). Arkivmusic. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
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