Sonja Franz Unger

Sonja Franz Unger

Sonja Franz Unger
interviewed by Jeanette E. Tuve
April 8, 1986
as part of the
Ethnic Women of Cleveland
Oral History Project Series

LISTEN/READ THE TRANSCRIPT

Sonja Franz Unger, born in Zagreb, Croatia, shares her wartime experiences, including her marriage to an American diplomat and their dramatic struggle to escape Tito's Yugoslavia. She and her husand, who was assistant Secretary of the Interior to President Truman, lived in Washington DC with their three children.

Upon moving to Cleveland in 1953, Mrs. Unger became involved in the Nationalities Services Center, using her fluency in half a dozen languages to assist other immigrants. She then became active in politics, serving as the first woman secretary of the Democratic Party of Cuyahoga County, and as delegate to the 1968 convention in Chicago. In 1975 she was selected to receive the Golden Door Award, which is given to honored Americans of foreign birth who have made outstanding contributions to their adopted country.

For Further Reading from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

This is one of a series of interviews conducted by Jeanette E. Tuve in 1986 as part of the Ethnic Women of Cleveland Oral History Project at the Cleveland State University. Originally sponsored by the CSU Women's Comprehensive Program and the History Department, and funded by the George Gund Foundation, Cleveland Memory has now digitized these fascinating interview transcripts and recordings to allow you to read the transcripts online while listening to streaming audio recordings of the interviews.