Holocaust survivor Egon Salmon's journey to escape the Nazis
"It's almost impossible to describe," Egon explained.
By SHIRA STOLL/STATEN ISLAND ADVANCEUpdated: SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 14:41The entrance of the former German Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich, Germany.(photo credit: REUTERS)
(TNS) MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — It was a cold January afternoon when I first walked into Egon Salmon's home in Maplewood, N.J. I was met with a hefty booklet which detailed his life story."Read this and then we can do the interview," he said.I laughed, thinking he was joking. Egon and I had spoke three times on the phone before I arrived to interview him for the Holocaust survivors project.But he was not joking. He wanted me to understand how hard the story of the Holocaust is to comprehend."It's almost impossible to describe," Egon explained. And he wanted me to have a firm grasp on the concept that I would be trying to teach to others.We had met two months prior at the Kristallnacht and the S.S. St. Louis event at Wagner College in November of 2017, where I first heard about his family's journey to freedom.Egon is also a prominent figure on Staten Island. He started Salmon Real-Estate in 1956, making it the oldest independent real-estate firm on Staten Island. His two sons, Jon and Henry Salmon, continued his legacy, and Jon Salmon is now the President of the firm.But before he was able to start this successful business, he and his family went through a long journey to escape the Nazis."Why don't you start by telling me your birthday and where you were born," I began.
