More than 70 years after the Holocaust, hatred, antisemitism, and genocide still threaten our world. The life stories of Holocaust survivors transcend the decades and remind us of the constant need to be vigilant citizens and to stop injustice, prejudice, and hatred wherever and whenever they occur.
This podcast series features excerpts from 48 interviews with Holocaust survivors conducted at the Museum as part of our First Person public program. Listen to these interview excerpts below. You can also watch video recordings of interviews from our First Person seasons here.
First Person is made possible by generous support from the Louis Franklin Smith Foundation with additional funding from the Arlene and Daniel Fisher Foundation..
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Estelle Laughlin: Post-Liberation Struggles
July 21, 2009
Estelle Laughlin discusses her liberation by Soviet troops in January 1945 from the Czestochowa concentration camp in Poland. In the days immediately following liberation, she and her mother and sister encountered both hostile and helpful people as they traveled through Poland and struggled to rebuild their lives.
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Morris Rosen: Forced Evacuation
June 3, 2009
Morris Rosen discusses his evacuation and forced march on foot in February 1945 from a subcamp of the Gross Rosen concentration camp in Poland to the Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia. In an effort to cover up their crimes and prevent prisoners from falling into enemy hands, Nazi officials evacuated prisoners from camp to camp in what became known as "death marches."
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Manya Friedman: Death March to Ravensbrück
May 27, 2009
Manya Friedman discusses her evacuation from Gleiwitz, a subcamp of Auschwitz, to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in January 1945. In an effort to cover up their crimes and prevent prisoners from falling into enemy hands, the Nazis evacuated prisoners in what became known as death marches.
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Erika Eckstut: A Young Girl’s Experience in the Ghetto
March 4, 2009
Erika Eckstut discusses the difficulties and dangers of life in the Czernowitz ghetto in what was then Romania (and today is western Ukraine). Erika was an adventurous teenager and her father went to great lengths to protect her and maintain her education.
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Leon Merrick: Importance of Work in the Lodz Ghetto
July 1, 2008
Leon Merrick's job delivering mail in the Lodz ghetto became all the more difficult over time as Nazi deportations to the extermination camps increased and he was often given the task of delivering notices for deportation.
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Helen Luksenburg: Survival in the Camps
June 3, 2008
Helen Luksenburg discusses daily life, spiritual resistance, and forced labor in Gleiwitz, a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
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Martin Weiss: Reflections on Liberation
May 7, 2008
Martin Weiss discusses his liberation from Gunskirchen, a subcamp of Mauthausen, in 1945 and the days immediately following.
