[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E406-E407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MR. JOSEPH SHER

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                        HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2016

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. 
Joseph Sher, who passed away on March 24, 2016 at the age of 100.
   Mr. Sher was born into a family of six children on July 27, 1917 in 
Krzepice, Poland. During World War II, Mr. Sher was sent to a series of 
Nazi concentration camps, where he and other Jewish men were put to 
work building roads. Many members of the crew perished from disease or 
were shot dead by the guards. Mr. Sher and his two brothers survived 
the atrocities of Nazi Germany; however they lost their parents and 
three sisters in the Treblinka death camp. Mr. Sher married Rachel 
Israelowicz in 1941. Like Mr. Sher, Ms. Israelowicz survived a series 
of Nazi concentration camps. The two reconnected after the war when her 
husband found her working in a soup kitchen.
   In 1949 Mr. Sher, a tailor by trade, was one of the first survivors 
of the Holocaust to reach New Orleans. He was part of the resettlement 
program offered by the United States for residents of Displaced Persons 
camps. He arrived with his wife and young son by ship at the Port of 
Embarkation, which happened to be on Poland Avenue in the 9th Ward.
   After coming to New Orleans, Mr. Sher worked as a tailor. He worked 
eleven hours a day, six days a week at Harry Hyman Tailors. His clients 
included Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Al Hirt, Chubby Checker and Chris 
Owens.
   Mr. Sher spoke frequently about the Holocaust and his harrowing 
experiences as a slave laborer. Even though reliving the horror was 
excruciating, Mr. Sher said he kept doing it to fulfill this admonition 
from his mother: ``You should tell all the world what happened to us so 
that no one will ever forget.''
   Mr. Sher's wife preceded him in death. His survivors include two 
sons, Martin Sher of Plano, Texas and Leopold Sher of New Orleans; and 
three grandchildren.
   Mr. Speaker, I celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Joseph Sher, a 
beloved husband, father, and son.

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