Joseph Goldwasser | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1919 |
Died | c. 1971 |
Citizenship | Poland United States |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Investigation of the lynching of Robert Mallard |
Spouse | Draza |
Joseph Goldwasser (c. 1919 – c. 1971) was a Americanized Polish Jewish businessman. He is known for leading an unofficial investigation in the lynching of Robert Mallard.
Joseph Goldwasser was born c. 1919 grew up in Łódź, Poland, in a family of 10 children. In 1938, when he was 19, he fled to Russia by himself after hearing a warning of the occupation of Poland. He spent World War II in Russia, including a year inside a Gulag. After the war, he fled to Uzbekistan.[1]
Goldwasser later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and married Draza Goldwasser. He ran a tire business called "Trey Packing"[2] in an old synagogue. The synagogue later burnt down, and he remodeled the building into a department store named the "Peerless Department Store".[3][4] Goldwasser often employed African Americans who moved from the Southern United States.[3] He was a member of the NAACP's Cleveland branch, and launched an unofficial investigation on the lynching of Robert Mallard.[5]
Goldwasser died c. 1971, at the age of 52 from a heart attack.[3]