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Biographical essay by Sasha Semenoff, 2014

Date

2014

Description

Sasha Semenoff survived several internment camps during the Holocaust, and ultimately recovered and became an entertainer in Las Vegas.

Text

Photograph of Sasha Semenoff, 1990s

Date

1990 to 1999

Archival Collection

Description

Sasha Semenoff playing the violin at a Jewish Federation event.

Image

Sasha Semenoff oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02609

Abstract

Oral history interview with Sasha Semenoff conducted by Claytee D. White on April 29, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Semenoff begins the interview by discussing his early life in Latvia and learning to play the violin as a child before the Nazi invasion. He describes being a Jewish Holocaust survivor, surviving the ghettos and concentration camp where he was held, and explaining how he immigrated to the United States after he was liberated. Semenoff then discusses moving to New York City, New York, where he joined the musician's union before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959. He details his career as a prominent lounge and big band violinist in Las Vegas, where he played at several different casinos, including the Desert Inn Lounge, the Dunes Hotel and Casino, and the MGM Grand Hotel. Semenoff also talks about the musicians he has played with, such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, his work at the time of the interview, and the presence of organized crime in Las Vegas.

Archival Collection

Sasha Semenoff and his Romantic Strings, 1970

Level of Description

File

Archival Collection

Dunes Hotel and Casino Records
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-00328
Collection Name: Dunes Hotel and Casino Records
Box/Folder: Box 08

Archival Component

Video, Generations of the Shoah interview with Sasha Semenoff, by Esther Finder, 2013

Date

2013

Description

Interview with Sasha Semenoff by Esther Finder. Semenoff is a Holocaust survivor, and discusses his life after he was liberated from a concentration camp in Europe in 1945.

Moving Image

Holocaust Education Committee letters and meeting minutes, document 01

Description

Holocaust Education Committee meeting minutes for May 18, 1981.