Ackner and Geller families collection

Martha Geller (1921-2001) was born Martha Ackner on April 23, 1921 in Vienna, Austria, to Sidney (Sindel) Ackner and Sabina (Sheve) Ackner. Sidney Ackner was born in Brody, Poland in 1894. He was the son of Chaim Mendel Ackner, a silver merchant, and Freuda Ackner nee Rokachl. He had three siblings: Henry, Nellie, and Helen, and he owned a garage in Vienna. He married his cousin, Sabina Finkelstein, in Vienna in 1920. Martha studied milinery in school and spoke French. She and her family received their visas to come to America on November 7, 1938. They relocated to Antwerp and then immigrated to the United States, departing Liverpool, England and arriving in New York on February 6, 1940 aboard the Lancastria. They settled in Flint, MI where Signey and Sabina owned a grocery store. Martha married Sheldon Geller on November 30, 1941, and the couple had two daughters: Suzanne and Annette.

Sheldon Geller (1919-1981) was born Sigmund Geller in Vienna, Austria, on February 26, 1919 to Chaskel and Mathilde Geller. His father was born in Zurawno, Poland on April 25, 1890 and served in World War I. Sheldon and his parents relocated to Riga before Kristallnacht in November 1938. He immigrated the United States, sailing from Gothenburg, Sweden and arriving in New York on December 6, 1939. He married Martha Ackner on November 30, 1941, and the couple had two daughters: Suzanne and Annette. He served in the US Army from 1943-1946. During the Holocaust, his parents were deported to Siberia, where his mother died. His father returned to Vienna, married Josefina Brull in 1947, and later immigrated to the United States.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Suzanne Strauss

Suzanne Strauss donated the Ackner and Geller families papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2019. Suzanne Strauss is the daughter of Sheldon and Martha Geller.