Ernst Selig Oral History Interview

Ernst Sigmund Selig was born on the 5th of May 1922 in the southwest city of Germany called Mannheim. He was 17 when the war broke out and had just recently moved to the city of San Francisco, CA, in order to live with some distant relatives. Living on the west coast allowed him to have several experiences with Japanese Americans as a young man. He was working for a newspaper company as well as a movie house when the war began. During the war, he joined the U.S. Army, which was highly significant, considering he lived his initial 15 years in Germany. Being of Jewish background, the Holocaust is a common topic as Selig is able to share unique experiences which are able to be interpreted through the eyes of a Jewish American and German American. Some of his most memorable experiences include the first time he encountered the Nazi regime while living in Germany, being taught in school to adore Adolf Hitler, and even being bullied due to his religious background. Due to his family being killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp during his teenage years, he ended up moving to America where he was able to learn the English language which eventually allowed him to get drafted for WWII as part of the army. His military experiences include stories from his missions in France, Italy, Germany, and even northern Africa. The share of these experiences allowed for a better understanding of the genuine lives many veterans had to live as well as Jewish Americans during WWII.