Sophie Gorodetzky's Obituary
Sophie Gorodetzky, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on September 12, 2025, in Hollywood, Florida, at the age of 102. She was preceded in death by her husband, Nathan, and is survived by her children, Sonia and Jeffrey, grandchildren Jennifer, Jason, Carly, and Paige, and her great-grandson, Blake. She will also be dearly missed by her son-in-law, Bernie, and daughter-in-law, Shari, as well as her grandsons-in-law, Alex and Zach.
Born in Poznań, Poland, on July 26, 1923, she moved to Włocławek when she was four years old. She turned 16 less than two months before Hitler's army invaded Poland, and her family fled to Warsaw. Sophie possessed a remarkable strength that left a lasting impression on everyone who met her. Finding herself on her own by 18, she courageously escaped the Warsaw Ghetto with false papers and, by a stroke of fate, was recruited into the Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army). She served as a courier for the Polish resistance for two years, even as the Polish capital was burning to the ground, before her ultimate capture as a political prisoner. She was liberated from Berlin-Spandau by the Soviet Army in April 1945 and met her late husband in the Landsberg Displaced Persons Camp, where she was being treated for malaria and underwent an operation to repair damage to her right foot suffered as a victim of Nazi experimentation. The two married in Landsberg in 1946, and in the spring of 1947, they arrived in New York Harbor on the SS Marine Perch.
Although they were eager to start a family, Sophie was unable to conceive for ten years. Still, she put on a brave face as she tried to assimilate into American life as best she could, even attending night school to learn to speak English. Though her adolescence was stolen, she picked up the pieces of her life and raised two smart, successful and caring children.
Sophie's resilience, forged through the darkest chapters of history and personal hardship, was a source of inspiration to all who knew her, as was her love and devotion to family. She dedicated her life to creating the loving family she had never known as a child, pouring her heart and soul into making sure her husband, children, and grandchildren knew what it meant to be truly loved.
Sophie's extraordinary life serves as a testament to the indomitable human spirit. She will be deeply missed but never forgotten as her legacy lives on in the love she gave and the strength she showed us all.
The family requests donations be made in memory of Sophie Gorodetsky to U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, https://www.ushmm.org and the Alzheimer’s Association, https://www.alz.org/seflorida. Chapel service 12:00 pm Sunday, September 14, 2025 at Levitt-Weinstein Beth David Memorial Chapel, 3201 N. 72 Avenue, Hollywood, Florida 33024.
Arrangements by Levitt-Weinstein Blasberg-Rubin-Zilbert Memorial Chapel (305) 932-2700.
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