Slavin Ber Simonovich (1917)

Slavin (Slawin) Ber Simonovich (14 February 1917, Riga) - watchmaker.

Ber Slavin completed nine grades of gymnasium in Riga in 1933 and apprenticed as a watchmaker until 1935, after which he worked in Vidzer’s workshop in Riga until 1939. Between 1939 and 1940, he served in the Latvian Army and subsequently in the Red Army from 1940 to 1941. In 1941, Slavin was imprisoned in the Riga Ghetto and, in 1943, deported to the Strazdingoft concentration camp in Riga. During the camp’s liquidation that same year, he managed to escape and remained in hiding in Riga until the city’s liberation.

After World War II, from 1944 to 1946, he worked as the transport manager at the “Bolshevichka” factory in Riga, and from 1946 to 1965 he served as a watchmaker at the “Darbs” factory, formerly the “Baltika” artel.

In 1965, Ber Slavin received permission to emigrate to Israel by invitation of his wife’s brother, Eheskel Lapp.

He was married to Khaya-Sara Slavin (née Lapp / Karpina) (1919, Riga), with whom he had a son, Simon Slavin (1951, Riga). His parents, Simon Slavin (1883–1941?) and Zelda Slavin (1894–1941?), and his younger brother Vulf Slavin (1927–1941?) perished during the Holocaust. His other brothers, Meer Slavin (1914, Riga) and Hirsh Slavin (1921, Riga), survived and lived in Riga.

Family:

· Khaya-Sara Slavin (née Lapp / Karpina) (1919, Riga) - wife

· Simon Slavin (1951, Riga) - son

· Simon Slavin (1883, Riga – 1941(?), Riga) - father
· MZelda Slavin (1894, Riga – 1941(?), Riga) - mother

· Meer Slavin (1914, Riga) - brother

Hirsh Slavin (1921, Riga) - brother

Vulf Slavin (1927, Riga – 1941(?), Riga) - brother

· Lapp Eheskel (1915, Riga) - brother-in-law