Berzon (Bersohn) Zalman Bentsionovich (March 4, 1927, Riga) – worker.

Family Background:

Zalman Berzon was born into the family of Bentsion Zalmanovich Berzon (1885, Viļaka – perished in the Riga Ghetto, 1941), a teacher and Basya Isaakovna (or Abramovna) Berzon (née Druyan) (1898, Dagda – perished in the Riga Ghetto, 1941), a housewife.

Education and Wartime Experience:

In 1933–1941 Zalman Berzon completed 9 grades of secondary school. In 1941 he was evacuated to Nikolsk, Yaroslavl Province, then to Frunze Province, Kyrgyz SSR, working at Kamyshanovka kolkhoz (1941–1944).

In 1944–1952 he served in the Soviet Army – as a regimental clerk in Alma-Ata and a soldier in Panevėžys and Tukums.

Career in Riga:

On returning to Riga, in 1953 Zalman Berzon became a porcelain artist at the Riga Porcelain Factory. In 1953–1957 he was an enamel burner at the “Progress” Artel.

In 1958–1980 he worked as a laborer, storekeeper, warehouse manager, and painter at the Repair and Construction Office of the Kirov District in Riga.

Family and Emigration:

Zalman Berzon was married to Sofya Borisovna Berzon (née Tsentsiper) (born 1933, Riga). They had two sons: Bentsion Zalmanovich Berzon (born 1954, Riga) and Boris Zalmanovich Berzon (born 1961, Jūrmala).

In 1980 Zalman Berzon received permission to emigrate to Israel, where his sister, Ida Bentsionovna Trubkina (née Berzon, born 1923, Riga), had been living since 1971.

Relatives:

  • Father: Bentsion Zalmanovich Berzon (1885–1941).

  • Mother: Basya Isaakovna (or Abramovna) Berzon (née Druyan) (1898–1941).

  • Sister: Ida Bentsionovna Trubkina (née Berzon, born 1923, Riga).

  • Sister: Leya Bentsionovna Plotke (née Berzon, born 1925, Riga).

  • Wife: Sofya Borisovna Berzon (née Tsentsiper, born 1933).

  • Son: Bentsion Zalmanovich Berzon (born 1954, Riga).

  • Son: Boris Zalmanovich Berzon (born 1961, Jūrmala).