Naftali Fürst, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Haifa, Israel, will attend the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation, which occurred on Jan. 27, 1945. He recalls arriving at that camp as a youth expecting "certain death. In Slovakia, we knew that people who went to Poland didn't return." Fürst and his family narrowly escaped the gas chambers due to Nazi orders that came one day prior their arrival to stop the chambers' use in anticipation of the nearing Soviet troops.
Fürst, originally from Bratislava, experienced multiple concentration camps, including Auschwitz, from the age of nine. Separated from his family, he and his brother survived a brutal march from Auschwitz to Buchenwald, where he was liberated. He appears in a famous photo that shows Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel and others in the camp's bunkbeds. Fürst says his father had emphasized that the family was to meet at 11 Šulekova Street in Bratislava, the home of family friends. To his surprise, his brother and parents met him there, alive; his grandparents, aunts, and uncles were all killed.
He has dedicated recent years to sharing his experiences through memorial work, understanding the dwindling number of survivors makes firsthand accounts increasingly rare. "For 60 years, I didn't talk about the Holocaust, for 60 years I didn't speak a word of German even though it's my mother tongue," said Fürst. Now, he shares his story as much as possible. "Whenever I finish, I tell the youth, the fact that you were able to see living testimony (from a Holocaust survivor) puts a requirement on you more than someone who did not: you take it on your shoulders the obligation to continue to tell this." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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