Generations Speakers Series: Lee Goldman Kikel

In middle age, Melvin Goldman (z”l) recorded a series of cassette tapes telling his life story, leaving them to be found decades later after his passing. His daughter, Lee Goldman Kikel, discovered the recordings—a priceless family heirloom conveying memory and the history of a Polish Jewish family which became the basis of a 2019 Holocaust memoir. Lee’s presentation focuses on her father’s recounting: his pre-war childhood, ability to survive the Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz and other concentration camps, and a miraculous recovery while knowing most of his family perished.

Lee tells how hope, tenacity, and perseverance amid major losses guided her father to become a United States citizen and start a new life in Pittsburgh. Her presentation also describes his journey to becoming a well-respected Squirrel Hill jeweler who created joy for others.