Cissi Pera Klein (19 April 1929 in Narvik – 3 March 1943 in Auschwitz) was a Norwegian Jewish girl who is commemorated every year as one of the victims of the Holocaust in her hometown in Trondheim. Her parents had immigrated to Norway from the Baltic states around 1905, at first living in North Norway, but then establishing a retail store in Trondheim.[1] She was arrested at her school on 6 October 1942, detained, and ultimately deported with the transport ship Gotenland from Oslo to Stettin, from which she was sent by train first to Berlin and then to Auschwitz, where she was murdered the day she arrived, on 3 March 1943. She was 13 years old.[2][3]

Cissi Pera Klein
Born(1929-04-19)19 April 1929
Died3 March 1943(1943-03-03) (aged 13)
Auschwitz, occupied Poland

Cissi Klein became famous in her hometown of Trondheim in the mid-1990s, when the city decided to appoint one of its 72 residents who were deported as a symbol for the persecution during the war. In 1995, the street where she lived was named Cissi Kleins gate, and a statue of her made by Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik and Tone Ek was unveiled in the park nearby in 1997.[4] In memory of the day she was removed from her school by police, pupils from the Kalvskinnet Primary School visit the park on 6 October every year to lay flowers.[5] The composer Ståle Kleiberg has written a musical piece in her memory.[6]

The statue of Cissi Klein was used in an opening scene of The Birdcatcher (film)

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ "City of Trondheim profile of Cissi Clein" (in Norwegian). City of Trondheim, Norway. Archived from the original on 2006-05-14. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  2. ^ Jødisk museum i Trondheim. "Cissi Klein, 13 år" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  3. ^ Leo Eitinger. "Death certificate for Cissi Klein issued in Trondheim" (in Norwegian). Trondheim probate court. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  4. ^ "Art - Cissi Klein". Trondheim.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  5. ^ Rædergård, Einar. "Cissi Klein (1929-1943)". Trondheim.com. Retrieved 22 May 2020.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Arkivmusic.com profile of Ståle Kleiberg" (in Norwegian). Arkivmusic. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2008-01-20.

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