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Who am I?
Where am I?
4
00:00:14,300 --> 00:00:16,433
Who am I today?
5
00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,267
I am Alex Moskovic.
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00:00:47,067 --> 00:00:49,833
Beautiful, Alex,
great shot.
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00:00:49,900 --> 00:00:51,900
Excellent shot.
8
00:00:51,967 --> 00:00:56,833
I am a person who lived
through the holocaust
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00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:59,567
and because I lived
through the holocaust,
10
00:00:59,633 --> 00:01:04,367
I have certain responsibilities
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00:01:04,433 --> 00:01:07,100
to the world.
12
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,367
In the winter of 1944-45,
13
00:03:52,433 --> 00:03:55,300
the vice was closing
on the Third Reich.
14
00:03:55,367 --> 00:03:57,467
The Russians were pushing
from the east,
15
00:03:57,533 --> 00:03:59,367
the allies from the west,
16
00:03:59,433 --> 00:04:01,067
so the Nazi increased
17
00:04:01,133 --> 00:04:03,433
the pace of
slave labor and extermination.
18
00:04:06,067 --> 00:04:08,133
Somehow,
in the farthest corner of
19
00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,200
Buchenwald concentration camp,
in central Germany,
20
00:04:11,267 --> 00:04:14,900
more than 1,000 young boys
found a safe haven,
21
00:04:14,967 --> 00:04:19,267
and a prisoner became
their guardian.
22
00:04:19,333 --> 00:04:21,833
When General
George Patton's army
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00:04:21,900 --> 00:04:26,100
liberated Buchenwald
on April 11, 1945,
24
00:04:26,167 --> 00:04:29,267
amidst the piles of
bodies and human wreckage,
25
00:04:29,333 --> 00:04:34,133
904 boys were found still alive.
26
00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:44,067
But the guardian slipped away,
unremembered.
27
00:05:27,667 --> 00:05:29,533
When you're by yourself
and you can think about it,
28
00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,433
you don't have an audience,
you know,
29
00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:32,667
you can really
30
00:05:32,733 --> 00:05:35,133
think about
how you feel about that time.
31
00:06:10,933 --> 00:06:13,233
How important
is the framing?
32
00:06:13,300 --> 00:06:15,467
Good.
33
00:06:21,067 --> 00:06:24,167
To have someone else on there
I will just turn it like so.
34
00:06:24,233 --> 00:06:25,200
Right.
35
00:06:38,133 --> 00:06:39,367
It's on.
36
00:06:39,433 --> 00:06:40,533
See you later.
37
00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:41,533
It's on?
38
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,500
Yeah. You are on.
39
00:06:43,567 --> 00:06:44,600
Okay.
40
00:07:05,967 --> 00:07:08,200
I'm recording now.
41
00:07:09,433 --> 00:07:11,300
I'm trying out
the new camera
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00:07:11,367 --> 00:07:15,067
and I hope that
the audio is fine
43
00:07:15,067 --> 00:07:18,400
and my framing is okay.
44
00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,133
My name is Alex Moskovic,
45
00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:16,567
I arrived in Buchenwald
on January 26, 1945.
46
00:08:16,633 --> 00:08:20,367
I was 13 years old.
47
00:08:23,100 --> 00:08:24,500
And so it began,
48
00:08:24,567 --> 00:08:28,867
four boys on four journeys.
49
00:08:28,933 --> 00:08:31,333
Pavel Kohn,
50
00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,367
from Prague to Theresienstadt,
to Auschwitz Birkenau.
51
00:08:38,133 --> 00:08:39,833
Israel Laszlo Lazar
52
00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:42,500
from Oradea
to the Oradea ghetto
53
00:08:42,567 --> 00:08:45,467
to Auschwitz Birkenau.
54
00:08:45,533 --> 00:08:48,567
Naftali Furst
55
00:08:48,633 --> 00:08:53,400
from Bratislava to Sered to
Auschwitz Birkenau.
56
00:08:55,467 --> 00:08:57,100
Alex Moskovic
57
00:08:57,167 --> 00:09:01,233
from Sobrance to Ungvar to
Auschwitz Birkenau.
58
00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:04,067
It wouldn't be until later
that their terrible journeys
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00:09:04,067 --> 00:09:05,500
would bring them together
60
00:09:05,567 --> 00:09:07,067
into the heart
of the Third Reich,
61
00:09:07,100 --> 00:09:08,533
to Buchenwald.
62
00:09:16,333 --> 00:09:17,967
The family was orthodox,
63
00:09:18,067 --> 00:09:24,300
so my father couldn't even
carry his tallit to the temple.
64
00:09:24,367 --> 00:09:30,067
He could not carry anything
on him on Saturday so,
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00:09:30,067 --> 00:09:33,067
I wasn't bar mitzvah yet,
so I could do it,
66
00:09:33,067 --> 00:09:35,500
so I was the one that did it.
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00:09:35,567 --> 00:09:37,600
I was proud to carry
my father's tallit
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00:09:37,667 --> 00:09:39,600
because I felt that
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00:09:39,667 --> 00:09:42,067
it's my responsibility
70
00:09:42,067 --> 00:09:44,433
and he gave me
that responsibility,
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00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:46,433
it was me.
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00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:47,967
We arrived at the temple,
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00:09:48,067 --> 00:09:51,600
I had the bag
and then he wore the tallit
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00:09:51,667 --> 00:09:54,400
throughout the services.
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00:12:14,933 --> 00:12:17,233
I'm very happy that
federal republic
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00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:20,833
decided to give us
money to invite,
77
00:12:20,900 --> 00:12:23,167
probably for the last time,
78
00:12:23,233 --> 00:12:26,867
so many survivors
who still could come.
79
00:12:26,933 --> 00:12:29,400
It's our last chance
to meet them.
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00:13:05,433 --> 00:13:11,500
We're all used to celebrate,
let's say the 75th anniversary,
81
00:13:11,567 --> 00:13:13,500
and before that the 50th,
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00:13:13,567 --> 00:13:16,067
but we know in 15 years
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00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:18,633
there will be
no survivors any more.
84
00:13:33,633 --> 00:13:38,067
We tried to invite as much as
survivors as we could find
85
00:13:38,067 --> 00:13:41,167
and we knew
it would be very hard
86
00:13:41,233 --> 00:13:45,233
because we had to say
so many times goodbye,
87
00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:48,967
because so many died
in the last years.
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00:14:34,367 --> 00:14:35,733
PROF.
Survivor memory
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00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,433
about their experiences
in the camps,
90
00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:40,933
which some people call
traumatic memory
91
00:14:41,067 --> 00:14:42,333
is pretty enduring.
92
00:14:48,067 --> 00:14:52,367
They remember a beating,
they remember a block elder,
93
00:14:52,433 --> 00:14:55,567
they remember
a routine roll call,
94
00:14:55,633 --> 00:15:00,133
they remember having to work
or not having to work.
95
00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,067
Most of these survivors
96
00:15:09,067 --> 00:15:12,533
tell the exact
same story themselves,
97
00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,100
as they would've told
after the war.
98
00:16:24,133 --> 00:16:28,333
The really small children,
most of them did not survive.
99
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:34,067
So if you were 15, or 14,
and you were deported,
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00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:37,067
they would send you
to a forced labor
101
00:16:37,133 --> 00:16:39,600
or to a slave labor camp.
102
00:16:39,667 --> 00:16:42,433
If you were younger,
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00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:47,467
you would be sent
with your mother to death.
104
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:19,867
So I'm standing on the platform
105
00:18:19,933 --> 00:18:22,367
with my mom,
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00:18:22,433 --> 00:18:24,833
and my younger brother
was also
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00:18:24,900 --> 00:18:27,067
being picked at that point
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00:18:27,100 --> 00:18:28,433
and he went off
with the children,
109
00:18:28,500 --> 00:18:33,067
so now it's just my mom
and me standing at the platform.
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00:18:33,067 --> 00:18:37,067
A kapo walks up to us
and he says to us in Yiddish,
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00:18:37,067 --> 00:18:41,300
why is he standing here
with you?
112
00:18:41,367 --> 00:18:46,533
So he said why didn't he go
with your husband?
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00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,400
And my mom said to him,
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00:18:49,467 --> 00:18:52,300
he's only 13 years old
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00:18:52,367 --> 00:18:57,333
and he cannot do
any hard work.
116
00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:02,067
So with that the kapo
grabs me by the arm
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00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:05,067
and starts walking me
towards the men
118
00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:07,933
and he keeps asking me,
where is--
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00:19:08,067 --> 00:19:09,333
Who is your father?
Where is he?
120
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,900
So I pointed to my father
and as we are walking,
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00:19:13,967 --> 00:19:15,067
he says to me,
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00:19:15,067 --> 00:19:20,167
if someone asks you your age,
123
00:19:20,233 --> 00:19:23,533
tell them you're 16,
and we're walking,
124
00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,367
taking a couple of more steps
and he keeps repeating,
125
00:19:26,433 --> 00:19:28,600
you're 16, you're 16,
126
00:19:28,667 --> 00:19:33,133
you're 16 till we actually
got to my father
127
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,067
and then he left me there
and walked away.
128
00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:38,533
And I turned back
129
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,900
and my mom was still
on the platform there standing,
130
00:19:43,967 --> 00:19:47,500
and that was the last time
I saw her.
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00:19:55,267 --> 00:19:58,867
Mr. Alexander Moskovic,
welcome to the ITS.
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00:19:58,933 --> 00:20:02,467
We have your original documents,
you want to see them?
133
00:20:02,533 --> 00:20:04,333
The International
Tracing Service
134
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,167
in Bad Arolsen, Germany,
135
00:20:06,233 --> 00:20:09,833
opened its doors
to the public in 2007,
136
00:20:09,900 --> 00:20:11,967
50 million pages of
Nazi records
137
00:20:12,033 --> 00:20:14,200
were finally available,
138
00:20:14,267 --> 00:20:17,833
after more than 60 years of
being locked away.
139
00:20:17,900 --> 00:20:22,000
Now let me ask you this,
this is off by one year.
140
00:20:22,067 --> 00:20:26,067
I think you have given
this birthday
141
00:20:26,133 --> 00:20:29,167
because you want
to be older.
142
00:20:29,233 --> 00:20:30,233
Yes.
143
00:20:30,300 --> 00:20:33,300
To have a chance to survive.
144
00:20:33,367 --> 00:20:36,033
Because young children,
and so on,
145
00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:38,933
they often were
murdered at once.
146
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:40,067
And therefore,
147
00:20:40,133 --> 00:20:44,433
many, many children
used the wrong,
148
00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:49,867
another birth date
because I'm older,
149
00:20:49,933 --> 00:20:51,333
and I can work.
150
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:52,967
- Right.
- I am strong, I can work.
151
00:20:53,033 --> 00:20:55,367
And therefore,
this is often...
152
00:20:55,433 --> 00:20:56,567
Yes.
153
00:21:05,467 --> 00:21:08,600
When Pavel Kohn arrived
in Auschwitz-Birkenau,
154
00:21:08,667 --> 00:21:11,200
he was told
nobody stays long,
155
00:21:11,267 --> 00:21:16,300
we are all leaving
through the chimney.
156
00:21:16,367 --> 00:21:18,367
More than
one million people did.
157
00:22:18,367 --> 00:22:22,267
Everyday brought the prospect
of new terrors and abuses.
158
00:22:22,333 --> 00:22:25,067
From kapos, guards,
159
00:22:25,133 --> 00:22:28,333
SS commandants
and for so many,
160
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,067
from the perverse doctor,
Joseph Mengele.
161
00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:34,267
Then I came from Mengele.
162
00:22:34,333 --> 00:22:37,067
Thank God,
he never asked me my age,
163
00:22:37,100 --> 00:22:40,233
basically he just looked at me
and he made a decision
164
00:22:40,300 --> 00:22:43,533
that I should go to the right
and I ended up with the boys.
165
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,333
So I stayed in Birkenau
166
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,567
for the next
eight and a half months.
167
00:22:47,633 --> 00:22:51,433
My father and my older brother
went off to work somewhere
168
00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:54,067
and at that time
I just lost contact,
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00:22:54,100 --> 00:22:56,300
I had no idea
where they were.
170
00:23:48,433 --> 00:23:50,833
If somehow
you avoided the chimneys,
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00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:52,467
avoided the gas chambers,
172
00:23:52,533 --> 00:23:54,200
if somehow
you didn't starve to death
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00:23:54,267 --> 00:23:55,833
or weren't worked to death,
174
00:23:55,900 --> 00:23:57,300
it didn't mean that
Auschwitz and Birkenau
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00:23:57,367 --> 00:23:59,133
were behind you,
176
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,867
they would forever stare you
in the face.
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00:24:02,933 --> 00:24:05,100
What lay ahead
was the unknown,
178
00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:08,067
inside a camp called
Buchenwald.
179
00:24:49,267 --> 00:24:51,367
Shalom.
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00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:48,433
The numbers coming in
reached huge proportions
181
00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:52,900
and the boys arriving
in January and February
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00:25:52,967 --> 00:25:55,933
had been on death marches
in the cold,
183
00:25:56,067 --> 00:25:57,833
snowy, frigid weather,
184
00:25:57,900 --> 00:25:59,867
January, February weather
185
00:26:00,067 --> 00:26:03,600
and then they've been
placed in open coal cars.
186
00:27:03,067 --> 00:27:04,600
The train pulled
into Buchenwald
187
00:27:04,667 --> 00:27:11,100
and the guards got out and keep
hollering "Heraus! Heraus!"
188
00:27:11,167 --> 00:27:14,533
Get out of the train,
get off the train.
189
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:15,933
So the...
190
00:27:16,067 --> 00:27:19,133
who ever was still alive
climbed out of the train
191
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,133
and of course as soon as
we got downstairs
192
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:28,100
on the platform,
they counted us
193
00:27:28,167 --> 00:27:32,433
and then after they counted us,
they said to us, okay,
194
00:27:32,500 --> 00:27:36,067
now climb back
into the coal cars
195
00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:38,433
and start unloading
the dead bodies.
196
00:28:05,067 --> 00:28:11,867
They came with
an experience of seeing
197
00:28:11,933 --> 00:28:13,967
a lot of violence.
198
00:28:16,067 --> 00:28:20,900
Many hours of suffering,
199
00:28:20,967 --> 00:28:24,833
self suffering
or seeing others suffer.
200
00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:26,433
Buchenwald
was the last station,
201
00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:29,400
you can say,
in the life of these kids.
202
00:28:40,433 --> 00:28:42,300
In 1937,
203
00:28:42,367 --> 00:28:44,167
six kilometers from Weimar,
204
00:28:44,233 --> 00:28:46,833
the Nazis built Buchenwald
concentration camp
205
00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:49,067
on the side
of the Eldersburg Mountain.
206
00:28:49,133 --> 00:28:52,433
In German, Buchenwald means
beech wood forest.
207
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:54,900
Not a death camp,
but a slave labor camp,
208
00:28:54,967 --> 00:28:56,600
with dissidents of all sorts.
209
00:28:56,667 --> 00:29:00,900
Gypsies, Jehovah's witnesses,
criminals, homosexuals,
210
00:29:00,967 --> 00:29:03,500
prisoners of war
and political prisoners,
211
00:29:03,567 --> 00:29:05,933
especially communists.
212
00:29:06,067 --> 00:29:07,500
Built into the wrought
iron entrance gate
213
00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:11,067
were the words
"Jedem DaS Seine."
214
00:29:11,100 --> 00:29:13,067
To each his own.
215
00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:15,533
But the Nazis had
their own translation,
216
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,467
everyone gets
what they deserve.
217
00:29:18,533 --> 00:29:21,067
The communist,
Jorge Samprun,
218
00:29:21,067 --> 00:29:22,933
a member
of the French resistance
219
00:29:23,067 --> 00:29:25,600
was arrested in 1943
by the Gestapo
220
00:29:25,667 --> 00:29:28,067
and deported to Buchenwald.
221
00:30:12,100 --> 00:30:13,900
During the last year
of the war,
222
00:30:13,967 --> 00:30:16,233
large numbers of transports
came to Buchenwald
223
00:30:16,300 --> 00:30:20,133
from Polish labor camps
in western Poland,
224
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,200
from Auschwitz
and its satellite camps.
225
00:30:23,267 --> 00:30:25,867
And among the transports,
226
00:30:25,933 --> 00:30:28,967
the 1000s and 1000s of prisoners
who came,
227
00:30:29,033 --> 00:30:33,600
there were about 5-6-8 % boys,
16 and under,
228
00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:36,467
and they poured
into the camp.
229
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:50,867
The "Kleiner Lager,"
230
00:30:50,933 --> 00:30:53,933
"the little camp"
was a place of mud and cold,
231
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:55,533
rife with disease.
232
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:57,567
A quarantine camp,
233
00:30:57,633 --> 00:31:00,600
it was located at the farthest
end of Buchenwald,
234
00:31:00,667 --> 00:31:01,967
it was separated
235
00:31:02,067 --> 00:31:04,600
from the main camp
by barbed wire.
236
00:31:04,667 --> 00:31:08,367
Historians have referred to it
as a cess pool.
237
00:31:08,433 --> 00:31:11,067
For most of the boys coming
to Buchenwald,
238
00:31:11,067 --> 00:31:14,067
the "Kleiner Lager"
would be their last camp,
239
00:31:14,100 --> 00:31:16,567
but they had
no way of knowing it.
240
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,100
The Nazis could use
prisoner functionaries
241
00:32:07,167 --> 00:32:09,433
as an extension of
Nazi power
242
00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:10,633
to be in the blocks at night,
243
00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:13,067
to be in the work groups
with the prisoners,
244
00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:16,333
to be in the key institutions
of the kitchen
245
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,500
and the
246
00:32:18,567 --> 00:32:21,433
which was
the clothing storage place.
247
00:32:22,667 --> 00:32:27,067
Why did the Nazis
need the communists?
248
00:32:27,100 --> 00:32:29,233
Because they themselves
were not capable of
249
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:30,300
running the entire camp
250
00:32:30,367 --> 00:32:33,333
and because frankly
they were afraid
251
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:34,567
to go into some of the camps,
252
00:32:34,633 --> 00:32:36,167
particularly
near the end of the war
253
00:32:36,233 --> 00:32:38,600
when typhus
was raging through.
254
00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:40,400
By 1944,
255
00:32:40,467 --> 00:32:43,900
Buchenwald had grown to
over 100,000 prisoners
256
00:32:43,967 --> 00:32:45,367
and the power held
by the communist
257
00:32:45,433 --> 00:32:47,967
underground grew
along with it.
258
00:32:48,067 --> 00:32:49,167
This level of influence
259
00:32:49,233 --> 00:32:51,567
and opportunity
was unparalleled
260
00:32:51,633 --> 00:32:53,133
and set Buchenwald apart
261
00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:55,067
from other
concentration camps.
262
00:32:55,067 --> 00:32:59,400
The consequence was that
the communists made a deal,
263
00:32:59,467 --> 00:33:02,933
they entered the gray zone
of the camp.
264
00:33:03,067 --> 00:33:05,167
They made a deal
with the devil.
265
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,400
For political prisoners,
266
00:33:13,467 --> 00:33:17,933
it was a big shock to see that
Nazis also brought children
267
00:33:18,067 --> 00:33:19,300
to the concentration camps.
268
00:33:20,833 --> 00:33:27,167
One can say political prisoners
had a certain resentment, ethic,
269
00:33:27,233 --> 00:33:29,367
a certain morality.
270
00:33:29,433 --> 00:33:33,433
Political prisoners had to make
a decision whom to save
271
00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:35,500
and they decided
we will do our best
272
00:33:35,567 --> 00:33:38,467
to save the children's lives
and to save children's lives
273
00:33:38,533 --> 00:33:40,467
means to save humanity
in a way.
274
00:34:09,333 --> 00:34:10,433
When we arrived,
275
00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:14,533
there was a lot of SS
in front of us.
276
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:15,733
And I remember,
277
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,567
there was one of the Jews
and he says to us,
278
00:34:18,633 --> 00:34:22,233
don't be afraid here,
we have no gas chambers more.
279
00:34:22,300 --> 00:34:24,367
He cheered us up
in Yiddish you know.
280
00:34:27,367 --> 00:34:29,933
The underground
was faced with a dilemma,
281
00:34:30,067 --> 00:34:32,900
what to do with these
lost children.
282
00:34:32,967 --> 00:34:34,333
A Czech communist
283
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,133
who had been in the camp
for five years
284
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,433
proposed that all the boys
be gathered in one block,
285
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:42,367
deep in the little camp,
far from the gaze of the SS.
286
00:34:44,900 --> 00:34:48,433
His name was Antonin Kalina.
287
00:34:48,500 --> 00:34:51,867
It was block,
in the distance,
288
00:34:51,933 --> 00:34:55,067
middle of a block,
in the little Lager,
289
00:34:55,067 --> 00:34:59,333
in the little camp
in number 66.
290
00:35:17,433 --> 00:35:19,467
Antonin Kalina,
291
00:35:19,533 --> 00:35:22,233
the block elder of
Kinderblock 66,
292
00:35:22,300 --> 00:35:23,867
sat for the only
known interview
293
00:35:23,933 --> 00:35:25,200
he ever gave in 1988,
294
00:35:25,267 --> 00:35:28,633
at the age of 86.
295
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,400
Serving as his translator
was Dr. Jendrik Flusser,
296
00:35:35,467 --> 00:35:38,500
also a prisoner in Buchenwald,
297
00:35:38,567 --> 00:35:41,233
Flusser was Kalina's assistant
in the block.
298
00:35:41,300 --> 00:35:44,467
Their friendship
never wavered.
299
00:35:56,967 --> 00:35:59,833
Kalina told the head
of the communist committee
300
00:35:59,900 --> 00:36:02,133
that they should make a block
just for children.
301
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,833
But some on the committee
were against it.
302
00:36:04,900 --> 00:36:06,700
They thought the Nazis
would come
303
00:36:06,767 --> 00:36:09,300
and take the children away
if they were all in one place.
304
00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:16,067
He was young,
much younger.
305
00:36:37,367 --> 00:36:40,967
Yad Vashem was charged
with commemorating
306
00:36:41,067 --> 00:36:42,133
the six million,
307
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,067
the destroyed communities.
308
00:36:45,133 --> 00:36:47,567
But the Jewish people
also remembered
309
00:36:47,633 --> 00:36:50,067
that there were
some people
310
00:36:50,067 --> 00:36:53,533
who stood by their side
in those terrible days.
311
00:36:55,967 --> 00:36:58,267
One of the clauses
in the law establishing
312
00:36:58,333 --> 00:36:59,533
Yad Vashem,
313
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:05,100
also gave Yad Vashem
the task to commemorate
314
00:37:05,167 --> 00:37:06,467
The Righteous
Among The Nations,
315
00:37:06,533 --> 00:37:09,533
they took this term
from the Jewish tradition,
316
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,333
who risked their lives
to save Jews.
317
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,533
We're excited about
the effort to try
318
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,900
and obtain the righteous
among the nations' distinction
319
00:37:21,967 --> 00:37:26,100
for Antonin Kalina,
the block elder of Block 66.
320
00:37:26,167 --> 00:37:29,467
It's something
of a puzzle to me,
321
00:37:29,533 --> 00:37:31,233
why it hasn't
happened already.
322
00:37:31,300 --> 00:37:35,900
The process is fairly rigorous
and challenging and...
323
00:37:35,967 --> 00:37:39,600
Alex is the lead survivor
providing testimony
324
00:37:39,667 --> 00:37:43,500
and so he will petition
Yad Vashem along with me
325
00:37:43,567 --> 00:37:46,933
for the recognition
that Kalina deserves.
326
00:37:47,067 --> 00:37:49,133
She has to get
testimony directly
327
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:52,267
from survivors
in their own language.
328
00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:54,567
We had a very
productive meeting
329
00:37:54,633 --> 00:37:57,233
in which
I learned a great deal.
330
00:37:57,300 --> 00:37:59,067
It's a much more
complicated process
331
00:37:59,100 --> 00:38:00,967
that I thought initially,
332
00:38:01,067 --> 00:38:04,567
I was pretty optimistic
at the beginning that
333
00:38:04,633 --> 00:38:06,200
yeah, just snap.
334
00:39:43,333 --> 00:39:44,367
On block 66,
335
00:39:44,433 --> 00:39:46,367
the children
didn't work anymore,
336
00:39:46,433 --> 00:39:49,267
so we were just sitting there
and looking at each other,
337
00:39:49,333 --> 00:39:53,967
and sometimes fighting
each other and so forth,
338
00:39:54,067 --> 00:39:55,900
that was block 66,
339
00:39:55,967 --> 00:39:58,500
but it was the warmest block
I've ever been to,
340
00:39:58,567 --> 00:40:03,567
because there you were
recognized of being a person.
341
00:40:07,967 --> 00:40:09,833
Once Kalina spoke to a kapo
342
00:40:09,900 --> 00:40:11,967
and told him that
some blankets were needed
343
00:40:12,033 --> 00:40:14,067
because the children
were cold.
344
00:40:14,133 --> 00:40:17,300
The kapo asked how many?
Five or ten?
345
00:40:17,367 --> 00:40:20,133
Kalina told him 2,000.
346
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,133
The next morning
they had enough blankets
347
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:23,900
to give the children.
348
00:40:23,967 --> 00:40:27,600
How many, five or ten?
349
00:40:27,667 --> 00:40:28,667
He said, no, 2,000.
350
00:40:28,733 --> 00:40:30,600
2,000.
351
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,867
Kalina asked us,
where are we coming from?
352
00:41:00,933 --> 00:41:03,600
So I told him,
we are from Hungary,
353
00:41:03,667 --> 00:41:06,833
but the part of Hungary that
used to be Czechoslovakia,
354
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:09,600
so immediately he took
more of an interest in us
355
00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:11,433
and he found us a place
and he said, okay,
356
00:41:11,500 --> 00:41:14,100
so this is gonna be
your place.
357
00:41:14,167 --> 00:41:16,067
And that time he told,
by the way,
358
00:41:16,067 --> 00:41:17,367
just remember one thing.
359
00:41:17,433 --> 00:41:18,900
Every afternoon,
360
00:41:18,967 --> 00:41:24,867
I hold classes and I want you
to be there at those classes.
361
00:41:24,933 --> 00:41:29,333
And we didn't argue.
We said, okay, we'll be there.
362
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,533
As young men,
Abraham Ahuvia,
363
00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,467
and his older brother were
prisoners in Buchenwald.
364
00:41:35,533 --> 00:41:37,433
Ahuvia often
watched his brother
365
00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:40,067
teach classes in block 66.
366
00:42:19,933 --> 00:42:21,433
So we got all different songs
367
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:24,367
we used to sing together,
you know.
368
00:42:31,467 --> 00:42:34,200
Kalina said it was nearly
impossible to teach children
369
00:42:34,267 --> 00:42:37,133
who had just seen their parents
go to the gas chamber.
370
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:38,800
But sometimes,
371
00:42:38,867 --> 00:42:40,833
they did manage to get
the children to sing.
372
00:44:27,533 --> 00:44:32,067
The founding fathers of this
program had realized
373
00:44:32,100 --> 00:44:33,300
that the decisions,
374
00:44:33,367 --> 00:44:35,833
the dilemmas
would not be very simple,
375
00:44:35,900 --> 00:44:38,400
that the commission
would have to deal
376
00:44:38,467 --> 00:44:42,067
with very complex situations.
377
00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:43,067
Because, you know,
378
00:44:43,133 --> 00:44:45,500
stories are rarely
black and white.
379
00:44:45,567 --> 00:44:48,900
I thought of the story
as a complex gray story
380
00:44:48,967 --> 00:44:51,400
in which people who were
part of the underground
381
00:44:51,467 --> 00:44:54,067
when they could
and where they could
382
00:44:54,100 --> 00:44:56,433
they stashed boys in the barrack
and took care of them
383
00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,233
who were in part collaborating
with the Nazis
384
00:44:59,300 --> 00:45:02,500
and in part using their position
as collaborators
385
00:45:02,567 --> 00:45:06,500
with Nazis engaging
in clandestine resistance
386
00:45:06,567 --> 00:45:12,233
and put their position to use
in saving human lives.
387
00:46:47,100 --> 00:46:50,433
Some of the parcels
were handed over to block 66.
388
00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:51,833
The children's parcels,
389
00:46:51,900 --> 00:46:54,433
I remember them
coming in a box,
390
00:46:54,500 --> 00:46:57,333
in a carton box
and then they were opened
391
00:46:57,400 --> 00:46:59,600
and some things
had to be boiled
392
00:46:59,667 --> 00:47:00,900
and had to be cooked
393
00:47:00,967 --> 00:47:02,267
and other things
had to be eaten.
394
00:47:02,333 --> 00:47:06,133
It was a big adventure.
It was a big adventure.
395
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,933
To me came one sardine
and since then I loved sardines.
396
00:47:10,067 --> 00:47:14,633
Portuguese sardines,
that was a dream.
397
00:48:02,633 --> 00:48:04,367
The bread that
we were having,
398
00:48:04,433 --> 00:48:06,133
was a small size,
399
00:48:06,200 --> 00:48:10,067
I would say maybe
seven inches long,
400
00:48:10,100 --> 00:48:14,933
maybe less than that
and we took it--
401
00:48:15,067 --> 00:48:18,600
we got for seven boys,
one loaf of bread.
402
00:48:18,667 --> 00:48:24,367
So we took a string,
we divided and we took a...
403
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:07,167
Jitka Flusserova
and her husband
404
00:49:07,233 --> 00:49:09,433
Dr. Jendrik Flusser
were in separate camps
405
00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:11,833
during the war.
406
00:49:11,900 --> 00:49:15,367
After liberation,
they began life anew in Prague.
407
00:49:15,433 --> 00:49:18,467
Although she would not talk
about her own experiences,
408
00:49:18,533 --> 00:49:21,067
she has vivid memories
of their friend,
409
00:49:21,100 --> 00:49:22,500
Tony Kalina.
410
00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:52,967
It was Kalina
who put his life on the line
411
00:49:53,067 --> 00:49:54,467
to protect the boys.
412
00:49:54,533 --> 00:49:56,300
He changed their badges,
413
00:49:56,367 --> 00:49:58,500
so that there were
no Jews marked
414
00:49:58,567 --> 00:50:02,533
with a yellow triangle
in the barrack.
415
00:50:06,100 --> 00:50:08,867
It's-- I told you.
416
00:50:08,933 --> 00:50:10,567
Right before liberation,
417
00:50:10,633 --> 00:50:13,167
the SS came to ask
for the Jews.
418
00:50:13,233 --> 00:50:15,467
Kalina said
there were no Jews left.
419
00:50:15,533 --> 00:50:18,033
They have all been
taken the day before,
420
00:50:18,100 --> 00:50:22,333
he told them the only children
left were not Jews.
421
00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,333
Kalina had also told the boys
that if the SS came,
422
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:28,200
they were to say
they were not Jewish.
423
00:50:28,267 --> 00:50:30,067
And the SS believed them.
424
00:50:30,133 --> 00:50:31,900
Even though 90%
of the children were,
425
00:50:31,967 --> 00:50:33,367
in fact, Jews.
426
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:38,933
DR.
I have no Jews here,
427
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:42,567
here I have only children.
428
00:50:42,633 --> 00:50:44,367
The SS weren't stupid.
429
00:50:44,433 --> 00:50:46,467
They knew
they had Jews in the camp,
430
00:50:46,533 --> 00:50:47,900
so they went to the barracks
431
00:50:47,967 --> 00:50:49,300
where they expected
there would be Jews,
432
00:50:49,367 --> 00:50:50,433
and they demanded
433
00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:55,300
that the block elders
put them forward.
434
00:50:55,367 --> 00:50:58,567
And it was the block
elders' responsibility
435
00:50:58,633 --> 00:51:01,133
priced at their own lives
to be responsive
436
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:03,467
to Nazi SS requirements.
437
00:51:03,533 --> 00:51:05,233
He stood his ground
438
00:51:05,300 --> 00:51:07,600
and he said
there are no Jews here.
439
00:51:13,233 --> 00:51:15,133
How does it feel
to have saved
440
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:16,967
so many lives?
441
00:51:17,067 --> 00:51:20,933
When asked how it felt to
have saved all those lives,
442
00:51:21,067 --> 00:51:23,233
Kalina didn't want to answer.
443
00:51:23,300 --> 00:51:25,367
He simply said he had
received a lot of cards
444
00:51:25,433 --> 00:51:27,967
from the children
after the war.
445
00:51:41,933 --> 00:51:46,133
Thomas Geve
was one of those boys.
446
00:51:46,200 --> 00:51:48,400
Using found materials,
colored pencils,
447
00:51:48,467 --> 00:51:50,167
colored water
in the backs of forms
448
00:51:50,233 --> 00:51:52,333
from the camp
administrative office,
449
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:54,300
Thomas made drawings
of his camp life
450
00:51:54,367 --> 00:51:56,367
that now reside
in the permanent collection
451
00:51:56,433 --> 00:51:57,633
at Yad Vashem.
452
00:51:59,667 --> 00:52:03,067
Within one and a half months
in Buchenwald,
453
00:52:03,133 --> 00:52:06,900
I drew over 80 scenes of
camp life in color.
454
00:52:06,967 --> 00:52:10,300
Everything is in it,
the plan of the camp,
455
00:52:10,367 --> 00:52:12,867
the food we ate,
the songs we sang,
456
00:52:12,933 --> 00:52:17,100
the work and the illnesses
and the punishments,
457
00:52:17,167 --> 00:52:19,267
everything is in these
colored drawings.
458
00:52:21,367 --> 00:52:23,067
In the final days,
459
00:52:23,067 --> 00:52:24,833
Jews were frantically
being ordered out
460
00:52:24,900 --> 00:52:26,833
on massive death marches.
461
00:52:26,900 --> 00:52:28,433
If the announcements
came over the loud speaker
462
00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:32,233
to report to roll call,
Kalina told the boys not to go.
463
00:52:34,600 --> 00:52:37,600
At one point however
the boys had no choice
464
00:52:37,667 --> 00:52:40,200
but to report.
465
00:52:40,267 --> 00:52:44,433
As air sirens sounded
and SS guards ran for shelter,
466
00:52:44,500 --> 00:52:46,900
Kalina ordered them back
to the block.
467
00:53:51,500 --> 00:53:52,567
The back was emptied out,
468
00:53:52,633 --> 00:53:55,533
we had to go
to the main upper platz
469
00:53:55,600 --> 00:53:57,867
with the rest of the camp
470
00:53:57,933 --> 00:54:02,267
and then
there was a marsh pit,
471
00:54:02,333 --> 00:54:06,833
so my brother was picked
to go on this march.
472
00:54:06,900 --> 00:54:08,500
I wasn't picked at that time.
473
00:54:08,567 --> 00:54:11,133
Alex later found out that
474
00:54:11,200 --> 00:54:14,067
Zoltan fell out of line
and was shot.
475
00:54:37,500 --> 00:54:41,833
We could see from block 66
over the other barracks,
476
00:54:41,900 --> 00:54:43,467
and the roofs
of the other barracks,
477
00:54:43,533 --> 00:54:47,467
we could suddenly see
the Nazi flag has gone.
478
00:54:47,533 --> 00:54:50,833
And I never remembered
any other flags in Germany,
479
00:54:50,900 --> 00:54:52,067
only the Nazi flag,
480
00:54:52,133 --> 00:54:54,133
because when Hitler
came to power
481
00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:56,067
I was only three years old.
482
00:55:33,633 --> 00:55:36,100
Buchenwald became peaceful,
very quiet,
483
00:55:36,167 --> 00:55:38,333
there was nothing
moving much,
484
00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:41,433
it wasn't the usual thing,
no roll call.
485
00:55:43,267 --> 00:55:46,400
You know, every morning
the roll call in front of --
486
00:55:46,467 --> 00:55:48,133
so this was
something different.
487
00:57:10,233 --> 00:57:12,300
We are free.
488
00:57:19,300 --> 00:57:25,467
I came to the summit of
a plateau and there I looked,
489
00:57:25,533 --> 00:57:28,067
and there was
all this barbed wire
490
00:57:28,133 --> 00:57:32,067
and these empty guard towers
on the corner,
491
00:57:32,100 --> 00:57:34,300
and looking through
the barbed wire,
492
00:57:34,367 --> 00:57:37,533
I saw this countless
number of people
493
00:57:37,600 --> 00:57:42,067
dressed in that same type
of burlap uniform.
494
00:57:48,933 --> 00:57:52,567
We came up to the tree line
and looked at the camp
495
00:57:52,633 --> 00:57:54,267
and we started saying,
oh, my gosh,
496
00:57:54,333 --> 00:57:57,233
it's a Nazi training camp,
we...
497
00:57:57,300 --> 00:58:00,467
you know,
we're in for a big fight.
498
00:58:00,533 --> 00:58:04,100
We ended up in a concentration
camp here in Buchenwald.
499
00:58:04,167 --> 00:58:07,067
So we waited
and then all of a sudden
500
00:58:07,067 --> 00:58:10,267
we saw the naked bodies,
out in the--
501
00:58:10,333 --> 00:58:12,067
they're unburied.
502
00:58:12,100 --> 00:58:15,267
I got them here.
Look.
503
00:58:15,333 --> 00:58:21,233
We saw these very skinny people,
eyes sunk,
504
00:58:21,300 --> 00:58:26,333
sockets just back of their head,
no hair, half of them...
505
00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:29,967
they were just kind of
swirling around like water.
506
00:58:30,067 --> 00:58:31,900
Now these are some
of the pictures that I took
507
00:58:31,967 --> 00:58:33,433
when we came
to Buchenwald.
508
00:58:33,500 --> 00:58:35,433
Now these people
were here
509
00:58:35,500 --> 00:58:37,267
at the request
of General Eisenhower.
510
00:58:37,333 --> 00:58:39,867
He wanted to see
what was going on in this part
511
00:58:39,933 --> 00:58:43,600
and as I said,
see, I was conscious,
512
00:58:43,667 --> 00:58:45,067
I was assuming that
513
00:58:45,100 --> 00:58:47,067
these pictures were
going to be reproduced,
514
00:58:47,100 --> 00:58:50,133
so when I photographed
the guests with naked bodies,
515
00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:52,067
I tried to make it
very subtle,
516
00:58:52,100 --> 00:58:55,333
because they would not have used
them at that time, you know,
517
00:58:55,400 --> 00:59:01,433
showing naked bodies
lined up like log wood.
518
00:59:01,500 --> 00:59:05,467
It's as if those sights
519
00:59:05,533 --> 00:59:11,133
of what we saw
just occurred yesterday.
520
00:59:11,200 --> 00:59:12,967
We had never imagined that
521
00:59:13,067 --> 00:59:17,833
men could do this
to other human beings,
522
00:59:17,900 --> 00:59:20,900
that what
we witnessed there.
523
01:00:54,100 --> 01:00:57,467
Six kilometers from Buchenwald
is the city of Weimar,
524
01:00:57,533 --> 01:01:01,533
the historic center of
German culture and intellect.
525
01:01:01,600 --> 01:01:04,467
Throughout its rich history,
Weimar has been home to Bach,
526
01:01:04,533 --> 01:01:08,067
List, Strauss,
Schiller and Goethe.
527
01:01:10,167 --> 01:01:11,767
As for Buchenwald,
528
01:01:11,833 --> 01:01:14,533
the locals barely acknowledged
its existence,
529
01:01:14,600 --> 01:01:16,467
even when they saw it
with their own eyes.
530
01:01:50,533 --> 01:01:53,433
But behind the curtain
of civilized behavior,
531
01:01:53,500 --> 01:01:56,233
many of the most depraved
Nazi medical experiments
532
01:01:56,300 --> 01:01:58,933
were conducted
at Buchenwald,
533
01:01:59,067 --> 01:02:01,300
including the burning of
prisoners with phosphorous
534
01:02:01,367 --> 01:02:04,233
to observe how long
it would take them to die.
535
01:02:25,333 --> 01:02:27,333
Ironically,
Buchenwald was referred to
536
01:02:27,400 --> 01:02:29,233
as the singing forest,
537
01:02:29,300 --> 01:02:30,967
because of the screams
from prisoners
538
01:02:31,067 --> 01:02:34,133
who were hung with their wrists
tied behind their backs.
539
01:03:23,567 --> 01:03:25,467
For the anniversary
of the liberation,
540
01:03:25,533 --> 01:03:27,967
the boys are
returning to Weimar,
541
01:03:28,067 --> 01:03:30,600
the city they pretended
that didn't exist.
542
01:03:30,667 --> 01:03:34,333
They are returning as men
who 65 years earlier,
543
01:03:34,400 --> 01:03:37,433
were together in block 66.
544
01:03:37,500 --> 01:03:40,967
So we are very happy
that we will have with us
545
01:03:41,067 --> 01:03:46,400
50 former children
of Buchenwald,
546
01:03:46,467 --> 01:03:52,067
children who survived
and were protected
547
01:03:52,100 --> 01:03:55,067
by the political resistance
by the camps underground
548
01:03:55,133 --> 01:03:57,467
and then brought
back to life
549
01:03:57,533 --> 01:03:59,200
by members of
the -- army.
550
01:04:07,333 --> 01:04:09,500
This is second birthday
of the survivors,
551
01:04:09,567 --> 01:04:13,233
that's how they call
the day of celebrations.
552
01:04:13,300 --> 01:04:15,700
It's their second birthday.
553
01:04:25,667 --> 01:04:27,433
As a young woman of 22,
554
01:04:27,500 --> 01:04:29,333
the social worker
Judith Hemmendinger
555
01:04:29,400 --> 01:04:31,367
was given
an overwhelming task,
556
01:04:31,433 --> 01:04:33,567
to run an orphanage
for a train load of boys
557
01:04:33,633 --> 01:04:37,433
coming directly from block 66,
after the war.
558
01:04:37,500 --> 01:04:39,467
Located just north of Paris,
559
01:04:39,533 --> 01:04:40,900
Taverne became the home
560
01:04:40,967 --> 01:04:43,400
for nearly
100 Buchenwald orphans.
561
01:04:43,467 --> 01:04:45,633
They never, never
spoke about their families,
562
01:04:47,667 --> 01:04:51,367
and you know that I wrote,
563
01:04:51,433 --> 01:04:54,567
I made a doctoral dissertation
about them,
564
01:04:54,633 --> 01:04:58,333
and then for the first time
I asked them
565
01:04:58,400 --> 01:05:02,233
how was your brother,
how was your mother?
566
01:05:02,300 --> 01:05:06,067
And they all said
the same thing, "my brother was,
567
01:05:06,133 --> 01:05:09,600
my father was wonderful."
He was not a strong father?
568
01:05:09,667 --> 01:05:12,533
"No, he was wonderful."
And your mother?
569
01:05:12,600 --> 01:05:17,300
"My mother also was exceptional
and wonderful and nice,"
570
01:05:17,367 --> 01:05:20,467
and I'm sure it's not true,
I'm sure it's not true
571
01:05:20,533 --> 01:05:25,633
because it's impossible that
all the fathers were ideal.
572
01:05:25,700 --> 01:05:28,633
No, I think they needed it
to make an idolization
573
01:05:28,700 --> 01:05:30,567
about their parents, yeah.
574
01:07:12,200 --> 01:07:16,400
After my return home
from Buchenwald,
575
01:07:16,467 --> 01:07:18,600
I came home and of course
576
01:07:18,667 --> 01:07:22,233
I didn't find anyone
in my immediate family
577
01:07:22,300 --> 01:07:26,500
or the other extended family,
like my cousins, uncles.
578
01:07:26,567 --> 01:07:30,533
No one returned
and I felt lost
579
01:07:30,600 --> 01:07:35,600
and with this feeling
of being lost,
580
01:07:35,667 --> 01:07:40,433
I kept asking myself questions,
why did this happen to me?
581
01:08:17,067 --> 01:08:18,067
Alex.
582
01:08:18,100 --> 01:08:19,067
We meet again.
583
01:08:19,100 --> 01:08:20,333
Yeah.
584
01:08:20,400 --> 01:08:22,233
Was this really planned?
585
01:08:23,500 --> 01:08:25,533
This is not the place where
we were supposed to meet.
586
01:08:25,600 --> 01:08:27,567
We were supposed to meet
in Jerusalem.
587
01:08:27,633 --> 01:08:29,333
Yes, you can come.
588
01:08:29,400 --> 01:08:30,367
You are invited.
589
01:08:30,433 --> 01:08:31,400
Thank you.
590
01:08:33,500 --> 01:08:36,133
I would like the nice weather...
591
01:08:36,200 --> 01:08:38,533
This is not really cold.
It is...
592
01:08:40,433 --> 01:08:43,300
Remember, like, when
we came here in January--
593
01:08:43,367 --> 01:08:45,167
Yes, 23 year in January.
594
01:08:45,233 --> 01:08:47,533
1945.
It was freezing.
595
01:08:47,600 --> 01:08:50,667
You come also in 23, January?
Yes?
596
01:08:50,733 --> 01:08:54,200
Well, I think
we came from --
597
01:08:54,267 --> 01:08:59,300
Yes, same train.
In the first class.
598
01:08:59,367 --> 01:09:00,467
Oh, yes.
599
01:09:00,533 --> 01:09:02,667
Open coal cars.
First class.
600
01:09:02,733 --> 01:09:04,533
With snow.
601
01:09:47,400 --> 01:09:49,167
In this block...
602
01:09:49,233 --> 01:09:50,567
here.
603
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:02,333
Antonin Kalina
was part of an effort
604
01:11:02,400 --> 01:11:06,067
to protect 900
to 1,000 boys.
605
01:11:06,067 --> 01:11:07,467
In terms of scale of effort,
606
01:11:07,533 --> 01:11:11,067
in terms of central importance
in the effort,
607
01:11:11,067 --> 01:11:15,567
I just don't see how
the case would be turned down.
608
01:11:15,633 --> 01:11:18,067
Yes, of course,
there are nos, yeah.
609
01:11:18,133 --> 01:11:20,900
Wherever you have criteria,
there are those who are not,
610
01:11:20,967 --> 01:11:23,233
who don't enter
within the criteria.
611
01:11:23,300 --> 01:11:26,067
So and very often,
you know, it's agonizing.
612
01:11:26,133 --> 01:11:29,467
It's agonizing and they have
to vote yes or no,
613
01:11:29,533 --> 01:11:31,567
it's not the historian
who can write
614
01:11:31,633 --> 01:11:34,100
on the one hand
and on the other hand
615
01:11:34,167 --> 01:11:37,267
and if I look at it from this
perspective and from the other,
616
01:11:37,333 --> 01:11:40,967
no, in the end,
it's black and white.
617
01:11:41,067 --> 01:11:43,067
When you
were in Buchenwald,
618
01:11:43,067 --> 01:11:46,433
you took a tremendous
risk, your life was at stake
619
01:11:46,500 --> 01:11:48,967
to do what you did
for these children.
620
01:11:54,633 --> 01:11:56,067
When reflecting
on whether
621
01:11:56,067 --> 01:11:58,067
he ever risked his life
in the camps,
622
01:11:58,067 --> 01:12:00,433
Kalina said
1000s of times.
623
01:12:00,500 --> 01:12:01,600
It was nothing.
624
01:12:01,667 --> 01:12:03,233
If there's righteous
among the nations,
625
01:12:03,300 --> 01:12:05,400
this guy in the gray zone
belongs there
626
01:12:05,467 --> 01:12:08,067
along with all the rest.
627
01:12:27,333 --> 01:12:31,333
So when I was asked to make
a research about Antonin Kalina,
628
01:12:31,400 --> 01:12:37,200
the main problem was that I knew
only a very few things.
629
01:12:39,433 --> 01:12:42,633
I knew that he was born
in 1902 in Trebitsch.
630
01:12:42,700 --> 01:12:49,067
Therefore it was logical that
he is not alive anymore.
631
01:12:49,133 --> 01:12:52,233
So I asked the lady
in the state archive
632
01:12:52,300 --> 01:12:57,467
responsible for that files
whether she could look
633
01:12:57,533 --> 01:13:03,300
and within a week
I had a copy
634
01:13:03,367 --> 01:13:07,200
of an entire file
of Antonin Kalina.
635
01:13:07,267 --> 01:13:10,300
And I found
Kalina's last address there.
636
01:13:10,367 --> 01:13:14,233
Okay, so I had the address,
then I went to the house.
637
01:13:16,067 --> 01:13:20,067
I've managed to find
the owner of the house
638
01:13:20,133 --> 01:13:24,567
who was an inhabitant of
the house, even 20 years ago,
639
01:13:24,633 --> 01:13:29,633
that Kalina was living there,
even died there,
640
01:13:29,700 --> 01:13:35,600
was barely visited by someone
in the last stage of his life.
641
01:13:35,667 --> 01:13:39,667
You know, the next stop was
the central cemetery of Prague.
642
01:13:39,733 --> 01:13:44,367
They told me there were three
Antonin Kalinas buried here,
643
01:13:44,433 --> 01:13:50,467
so I told them, give me
the location of this one.
644
01:13:52,667 --> 01:13:56,600
After the war,
coming back to Trebitsch,
645
01:13:56,667 --> 01:14:01,500
receiving prominent
communist positions,
646
01:14:01,567 --> 01:14:03,233
then gets divorced,
647
01:14:05,300 --> 01:14:12,967
then goes to Prague
to work at the ministry.
648
01:14:13,067 --> 01:14:19,167
And then in 1968,
went into pension.
649
01:14:23,200 --> 01:14:27,067
That's Antonin Kalina.
650
01:15:05,567 --> 01:15:09,067
The survivors are so important
in everything we do.
651
01:15:09,067 --> 01:15:12,233
So what will our work
look like?
652
01:15:12,300 --> 01:15:14,067
Not only
in the righteous project,
653
01:15:14,067 --> 01:15:15,467
but in every other respect.
654
01:15:15,533 --> 01:15:17,233
When the survivors are gone,
when they are not there,
655
01:15:17,300 --> 01:15:18,433
when I cannot pick up
the phone
656
01:15:18,500 --> 01:15:20,300
and say,
sir, you were in Auschwitz,
657
01:15:20,367 --> 01:15:24,100
so tell me,
was it this or was it that?
658
01:15:24,167 --> 01:15:27,200
Many of the boys have told me
that after liberation,
659
01:15:27,267 --> 01:15:29,433
they carried Kalina
on their shoulders,
660
01:15:29,500 --> 01:15:32,600
you don't carry somebody
on your shoulders,
661
01:15:32,667 --> 01:15:35,233
especially if you're weak
and you've been in a camp
662
01:15:35,300 --> 01:15:37,533
and you've been in a block where
other people have been dying,
663
01:15:37,600 --> 01:15:40,433
unless this is some
deeply felt feeling
664
01:15:40,500 --> 01:15:43,533
and not very many of
the block elders in Buchenwald,
665
01:15:43,600 --> 01:15:45,300
I believe, were carried
on their shoulders
666
01:15:45,367 --> 01:15:48,500
of anybody after liberation.
667
01:15:56,967 --> 01:15:59,567
So he hasn't heard
anything from Yad Vashem,
668
01:15:59,633 --> 01:16:05,300
however, he feels that
this is a very difficult thing
669
01:16:05,367 --> 01:16:08,567
to get the righteous
from Yad Vashem
670
01:16:08,633 --> 01:16:12,100
and he doesn't have
too much hope
671
01:16:12,167 --> 01:16:14,333
that we will be
able to get it.
672
01:16:14,400 --> 01:16:18,100
We are here
in the garden of the righteous,
673
01:16:18,167 --> 01:16:22,533
it's a very quiet corner
on the mount of remembrance,
674
01:16:22,600 --> 01:16:25,200
Yad Vashem,
675
01:16:25,267 --> 01:16:27,567
and here we have walls
where we engraved
676
01:16:27,633 --> 01:16:30,267
the names of the righteous
amongst the nations
677
01:16:30,333 --> 01:16:32,600
and it's engraved in stone,
678
01:16:32,667 --> 01:16:35,700
so it will be there forever
and for perpetuity.
679
01:16:40,800 --> 01:16:43,400
In his memoir,
Man's Search For Meaning,
680
01:16:43,467 --> 01:16:46,467
survivor Viktor Frankle
spoke for so many survivors
681
01:16:46,533 --> 01:16:50,067
when he wrote, "everything
can be taken from a man,
682
01:16:50,067 --> 01:16:52,733
but the last
of the human freedoms.
683
01:16:52,800 --> 01:16:56,133
To choose one's attitude in
any given set of circumstances.
684
01:16:56,200 --> 01:16:58,600
To choose one's own way."
685
01:17:00,567 --> 01:17:03,067
And so 904 children
could be saved.
686
01:17:03,100 --> 01:17:08,233
1,600 children and young people
couldn't be saved,
687
01:17:08,300 --> 01:17:10,333
have been killed by torture
688
01:17:10,400 --> 01:17:14,267
as a reality
of German concentration camp.
689
01:17:17,067 --> 01:17:22,233
And I said to myself, how come
they still believe in man?
690
01:17:22,300 --> 01:17:24,400
That they still
believe in history?
691
01:17:24,467 --> 01:17:27,800
That they still think
we can do it better?
692
01:17:32,433 --> 01:17:37,067
Why don't they hate Germans,
especially,
693
01:17:37,100 --> 01:17:40,800
and why do they have hope?
694
01:17:45,333 --> 01:17:47,500
And that's why
I call them my teachers
695
01:17:47,567 --> 01:17:49,800
to learn to how to live
in a better way.
696
01:17:53,633 --> 01:17:56,167
And that's part of
the meaning of Buchenwald,
697
01:17:56,233 --> 01:18:00,700
because why do we remember
the dark sides of our history?
698
01:18:00,767 --> 01:18:04,633
Because we don't want
to let that have the last word.
699
01:19:59,500 --> 01:20:05,133
Years ago, he had like a little
basal cell removed from his back
700
01:20:05,200 --> 01:20:07,567
and he went to the dermatologist
on his own.
701
01:20:07,633 --> 01:20:10,500
He came home and he looked
a little ashen and I said,
702
01:20:10,567 --> 01:20:12,067
was it painful?
703
01:20:12,133 --> 01:20:13,167
He said, no, he says.
704
01:20:13,233 --> 01:20:15,367
But as all this
thing happened,
705
01:20:15,433 --> 01:20:17,600
when they started
to burn that off,
706
01:20:17,667 --> 01:20:20,267
immediately he'd smelled
the crematory.
707
01:20:23,767 --> 01:20:25,000
Dear, Mom and Dad,
708
01:20:25,067 --> 01:20:32,700
I wish that
you would've been here longer
709
01:20:32,767 --> 01:20:39,300
and see what I did
in my lifetime.
710
01:20:40,600 --> 01:20:42,733
At the end of the war,
after I found out
711
01:20:42,800 --> 01:20:48,267
that I was the only one
to survive it, it was difficult.
712
01:20:52,633 --> 01:20:57,533
The first time that I met him,
he told me about,
713
01:20:57,600 --> 01:21:01,667
about himself being a survivor,
holocaust survivor.
714
01:21:01,733 --> 01:21:06,433
And he told me that
he's invited to Buchenwald,
715
01:21:06,500 --> 01:21:09,133
he invited me
to come with him.
716
01:21:09,200 --> 01:21:14,467
I was very tense to see
how he will feel here.
717
01:21:14,533 --> 01:21:16,367
And he's a hero.
718
01:21:16,433 --> 01:21:17,700
Quite an hero.
719
01:21:17,767 --> 01:21:23,500
In a way,
he cried several times,
720
01:21:23,567 --> 01:21:28,567
but he enjoyed
every meeting,
721
01:21:28,633 --> 01:21:34,667
every thing that they arranged
for the survivors.
722
01:24:04,767 --> 01:24:08,100
Before we got married,
I made the decision,
723
01:24:08,167 --> 01:24:10,633
he didn't ask me,
I made the decision to convert.
724
01:24:10,700 --> 01:24:13,433
I just thought out of respect
for his parents,
725
01:24:13,500 --> 01:24:16,233
I mean, they died
because they were Jewish,
726
01:24:16,300 --> 01:24:20,133
so why would I want their son
to raise someone, you know,
727
01:24:20,200 --> 01:24:23,633
his children
in another religion?
728
01:24:23,700 --> 01:24:28,300
I met my woman
who is still my wife today
729
01:24:28,367 --> 01:24:31,567
and we had
a wonderful life,
730
01:24:31,633 --> 01:24:39,633
I was able to start
and continue our family
731
01:24:40,633 --> 01:24:48,633
and today I have two sons
and we have four grandchildren.
732
01:24:50,533 --> 01:24:54,300
I would have really loved
you to see all that
733
01:24:54,367 --> 01:24:58,433
and I hope
that I have accomplished
734
01:24:58,500 --> 01:25:00,100
what you wished for me.
735
01:25:31,767 --> 01:25:35,967
See, Naftali is a person
that goes forward always,
736
01:25:36,067 --> 01:25:41,300
this year, he had cancer
and heart operation
737
01:25:41,367 --> 01:25:44,433
and you cannot see it
on him.
738
01:25:44,500 --> 01:25:46,633
He looks perfect, you know.
739
01:25:46,700 --> 01:25:50,567
He walks, he goes
to the gym almost every day.
740
01:25:50,633 --> 01:25:52,700
He meets people.
741
01:25:52,767 --> 01:25:55,600
He's not depressed by anything.
742
01:25:55,667 --> 01:26:00,067
He's the kind of person
that walks on and on in life
743
01:26:00,067 --> 01:26:03,300
and takes all the flowers
that he can pick.
53169
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