Marcel Lechtman b. He had three sisters: Hava and twins, Luba and Buza. Following a period of increasing violence and the outbreak an Austrian civil war in , the family immigrated again to British-controlled Palestine, where Sioma began working in construction, met, and married Tonia Bialer Both Sioma and Tonia joined the M.
Palestinian Communist Party. In , after their marriage, both were arrested by the British authorities for their communist political activity, and later forced to leave Palestine. Considered stateless, they could not be deported to a specific country and were free to go where they wanted. They left in to join the fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War.
They traveled first to Paris, France, only to find out that Tonia was pregnant. On February 8, , Sioma was sent to Saint-Cyprien, a reception center for Spanish refugees, and later, an internment camp for foreigners. Tonia and Vera moved to Oloron St. Marie to be closer to Sioma.
Later that spring, he was among almost 19, refugees transferred to a new camp at Gurs in southwestern France. Tonia was able to visit him in June , and introduced him to Vera. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
Tonia managed to get visas for the family to immigrate to Mexico, but Sioma declined, believing he would be needed to fight in the French Resistance. Tonia refused to leave without Sioma, and in , she sent the children to the Pouponniere children's home in Limoges, run by Hanna Gruenwald, a Jewish German psychologist from Paris. Tonia was eventually hired there, and met Margaret Locher, who visited the home for several weeks. Sioma was held in Vernet until August 8, , when he was part of the convoys transported to Drancy, a transit camp to the east.
