Bernard Birnbaum Family Papers

Bernard Birnbaum was a Holocaust survivor from France. He was a child when World War II commenced and spent part of the war in hiding. Following the war he joined the French army and served in Africa. He later married Anna Zwern the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Blanche and Simon Zwern. After the war, Bernard and his mother stayed in Paris. They went back to their old apartment and Bernard continued school. In 1956, Bernard was drafted into the French army. He fought in Algeria and Morocco, where he was wounded and contracted an illness. He was promoted to second lieutenant, but was demoted back to sergeant and imprisoned for fighting with a battalion commander who insulted the Jewish soldiers in the unit. After Bernard finished his military duty in 1958, he decided to it was time to leave Europe. In 1960, he secured an affidavit of support and came to America where he lived in New York City, making his living first as a cart pusher and later a clothing salesman. He met his wife, Annie, and they were married in 1966. They moved to Palm Springs, where Bernard went to work for a fabric company as a salesman and eventually became an executive with the company. The family moved to Atlanta in 1974. In 1983 Bernard started his own textile company.