Sam Gejdenson Papers

Samuel "Sam" Gejdenson was born to two Holocaust survivors on May 20, 1948, at a Displaced Persons Camp in Eschwege, Germany. His mother, a Lithuanian Jew, and his father, a Belarussian Jew, met in the camp following World War II. Gejdenson later moved with his parents to Bozrah, Connecticut, where they engaged in dairy farming. Gejdenson attended Mitchell College following high school, receiving an Associates degree before attending the University of Connecticut. After receiving his Bachelor's degree from UConn in 1970, Gejdenson began work for the FAI Trading Company before becoming the president of the Montessori School in Norwich, Connecticut shortly thereafter.

Gejdenson began his politcal career as the chairman for the Bozrah Town Committee, and was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1974. He would serve the people of Bozrah until 1978, leaving after two terms to take a position in the administration of Connecticut Governor Ella T. Grasso. In 1980 Gejdenson became the first child of Holocaust survivors to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 2nd Congressional district as a Democrat. Gejdenson served the people of eastern Connecticut in Congress until 2000 when he was defeated for reelection by Repbulican, Rob Simmons.

During his tenure in Congress Gejdenson participated as co-chairman of the Democratic Task Force on Retirement Security and was the Senior Democrat on the Committee on International Relations. He also served as a member of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, the Joint Library Committee, the Committee on House Administration, and various other task forces. As the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, Gejdenson worked to promote the exportation of U.S. made products, to further the causes of human rights and peace throughout the world, and ensure that American trade policy was reflective of American workers' rights and the furtherance of environmental protection.

During his time in office Gejdenson became known for his advocacy for children, senior citizens, and working families, and fought to make college more affordable for working class families. He was an advocate of modernizing technology in schools, enhancing retirement security for the elderly, and promoted the exportation of American made products. He has also become known for his efforts to stop human trafficking throughout the world and for his efforts to enhance international understanding of human rights and democracy.

Gejdenson currently runs and operates his own trading company based in Branford, Connecticut; Sam Gejdenson International.