Suzanne (Suse) Eva Axelrod

Published obituary:

Suzanne Axelrod, nee Kahn, wife of the late Arthur Axelrod and former resident of Matawan, NJ, died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. She was 92.

Mrs. Axelrod was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, a city on the Rhine River near the French border. In 1940, her family was ordered by the Nazis to leave their home and take with them only what they could carry. Along with her parents and younger brother, she traveled by train for 3 days and nights with no food, water, or facilities to Gurs, a detention camp in France. Later, they were transferred to Camp Rivesaltes.

In 1941, her family was granted a visa to come to the United States. The family went to Marseilles, France, to await passage. However, before they could leave, Pearl Harbor was bombed and their visas to the U.S. were cancelled. In 1942, the family was able to get a visa for Cuba, and they departed France on the last ship to leave the unoccupied zone in France. They lived in Cuba for 3 years until coming to the U.S. in 1945.

In 1950, Suzanne married Arthur Axelrod, an Army navigator who flew many missions during the Second World War. Arthur and Suzanne, who were married for 44 years, had a son, Neal, and a daughter, Corinne. Suzanne worked for more than 20 years in sales at Steinbach's Department Store in Red Bank, New Jersey, prior to her retirement.

Mrs. Axelrod was a volunteer at the Center for Holocaust Studies at Brookdale Community College and had spoken at many public schools in New Jersey about her experiences in the Holocaust.

She is survived and will be greatly missed by her brother, Gerald Kahn, her 2 loving children, 3 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

Arrangements by Gosselin Funeral Home, Edison.

Published by Home News Tribune on Feb. 6, 2013.