Holocaust Survivor’s Journey

Melvin Goldman did not talk much about his childhood in Poland or his family. In the 1970s, he began recording details of his experiences on cassette tapes, which lay dormant until 2015, when his daughter Lee found them and finally listened to his testimony. 

Lee honored his wishes to transcribe his story as a book, published in 2019 as Perseverance: One Holocaust Survivor’s Journey From Poland to America. In April 2023, Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre debuted a theatrical adaptation of her book, entitled Perseverance, written by playwright L. E. McCullough and generously supported by a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Lee Goldman Kikel grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where she spent many of her early years in her family’s jewelry business, both as a child and an employee. Over the years, she has told her family’s story to many audiences, and she has also become a generations speaker as part of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. She has discussed the Holocaust and anti-semitism with diverse audiences around the region and beyond. These engagements have fostered multidisciplinary ways to reach audiences of all ages and in a variety of subject areas, and have taught her both the importance of sharing Holocaust education and the value of presenting the content in engaging ways. 

Goldman Kikel is a lifelong Pittsburgh resident, having earned both a BS in psychology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh. She also worked in the mental health field as a rehabilitation counselor.