This is the heartbreaking and uplifting story of a courageous young woman who was
determined to survive the horrors of the Holocaust. Sonia Warshawski (nee Grynstein) was born November 10, 1925, in Miezric, Poland. She was 13 when the war broke out, and just 15 when Nazis rounded up the Jews in the town, forcing them into the Miezric Ghetto. Sonia was Imprisoned at three of the most notorious death camps, Auschwitz, Majdanek, where she saw her mother being marched to the gas chamber, and Bergen-Belsen, where more than 1.5 million Jews were murdered. At 19, she was liberated from Bergen-Belsen and immigrated to the US in 1948, settling in Kansas City, KS.  Decades later Sonia found her true purpose in human connection. The venue: her tiny tailor shop, a vibrant and unlikely gem, tucked away in the basement of a dying shopping mall in suburban KC. She told her story of survival to anyone who would listen, her ever expanding clientele spanning all races, religions and generations. Her public persona eventually grew into classrooms, churches, synagogues, packed theaters, museums, even beyond prison walls. All that while, driving herself to work every day, well into her 90s, holding court and thriving in that teeny space for more than 30 years. Then, one day in 2015, the mall’s imminent demolition forced here to shutdown. But ever the survivor, within months she relocated, reinvented, and reopened in yet another unlikely basement space, another defunct building, radiating her particular light, zest for life, and gift of sharing story for many more years to come. This modern-day struggle and triumph became the core inspiration for the powerful award-winning film “Big Sonia” (2016).  Her survival was miraculous. But the Holocaust deeply damaged her body and soul.  Through presentations, personal connections and the “Big Sonia” documentary, her joys and her immeasurable wounds are revealed. The film has inspired and educated audiences across the US and abroad and is regularly shown in schools, churches, museums, theaters, and a wide variety of venues. In 2018, “Big Sonia,” was screened at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, for members of the House and Senate. It is currently available online (Amazon, Vimeo, Google Play, Kanopy), and on PBS through Spring 2025. These efforts and tools ensure her formidable story and all survivors’ stories will live on. For more information on the film and educational efforts please visit www.bigsonia.com.