Marga Silberman Randall (z”l)

March 20, 1930 – November 24, 2005

Marga Silbermann Randall was born in Lemforde, Germany on March 20, 1930.  In 1934, Marga witnessed her father, Louis die as he received a phone call from the Gestapo, summoning him to their headquarters. Following his death, her mother, Johanna, moved into a small apartment and began working as housekeeper. Marga’s three older siblings left to train for work in other cities, while Marga was sent to live with her grandparents, Gustav and Emma Adelsheimer, and her aunt, Paula Adelsheimer. They lived in Schermbeck, a small town near Dusseldorf.

While living under Nazi persecution, Johanna spent years securing the paperwork necessary to leave. After a dangerous journey through France, Spain and Portugal, Marga arrived in the United States in 1941 with her mother and sister. The family settled in Pittsburgh, where Johanna’s brother-in-law and sister settled after immigrating several years earlier. The remaining members of the Adelsheimer, Kann and Silbermann families died in the Holocaust. Most of their extended family perished in the Holocaust.

Marga Silbermann married Jordan Randall and had three children. She was an active member in the Jewish community of the South Hills. In the 1960s, she was president of Women’s American Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT). She was also a member of the Friendship Club, an organization formed by German-speaking Jewish refugees before the war.

In the 1980s, Marga returned to her home town in Germany for the first time. After the trip, she devoted her life to educating people about the Holocaust and sharing her story. She made many trips to Germany and spoke to students in both Germany and Pittsburgh about her experiences. She gave hundreds of presentation, wrote two books on the subject of the Holocaust, and produced a documentary for National Public Television. In 2004, she used ashes collected from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp to dedicate the Holocaust Memorial garden at Temple Emanuel in Mt. Lebanon.

Marga passed away on November 24, 2005.

Information adapted from Rauh Jewish Archives

Watch an Yad Vashem’s oral history interview with Marga here.

More about Marga

Marga Silbermann Randall obituary | The Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania

Publications by Marga Silberman Randall

The Silbermann Family | The Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania

Guide to the Marga Silbermann Randall Photographs c. 1914-1995 | Historic Pittsburgh

Temple Emanuel celebrates 20th anniversary of its Holocaust Memorial Garden | Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle