Lessons from the Past | Coping With World War II, Immigrating to the U.S.

By Eleni Manouselis ’21
Ohio University

During World War II, my grandparents were in Greece before immigrating to the United States. My grandfather, unlike my uncles (on my mother’s side), was too young to serve in the war. He had mentioned only being able to steal food and drive a bus to the surrounding villages. From there, he was able to help sustain his family through tough times. He never went into much more detail other than that.

After the war was over, a few years passed and my uncles and grandfather immigrated to the United States in order to make money to send back to their family. Back in the day, that was the best way to sustain a family in a foreign country. He then came back to Greece to find a wife and met my grandmother. After they had gotten married, my uncle then was introduced to my grandmother’s best friend. When moving to the United States, they both ended up working in a men’s suit factory. My uncle worked in Ford’s factory here in Cleveland, and my grandfather was working in Italian restaurants.

My grandfather on my father’s side was in a similar situation. He was in Greece but was the eldest son so had the obligation to maintain his family. It was never mentioned why he didn’t serve in World War II and not much was discussed about that time period. Things were very difficult and I was told they had to do what they needed for that time. After the war, there was a division of families in the village area and the properties were divided as so. Over time, my grandfather was able to sustain a herd of sheep and olive trees. He was able to get himself comfortable and he had an arranged marriage with my grandmother.