Never Again - Brief Article

I found a special man to interview. He was born on the Polish-Russian border on October 26, 1924. Before the war, Poland had the most Jews in Europe--about 3.3 million. In Poland, this man lived with his mother, father, two sisters, and three brothers. His aunts, uncles, and cousins lived nearby.

When he was 17, the Nazis invaded Poland and forced everyone to wear patches on their clothes according to their religion. Because he was Jewish, he wore a Star of David patch.

When he was 18, he and his family were sent to Auschwitz--a concentration camp--by train. When they arrived, he watched his mother and two sisters join a group that was sent to die in the gas chambers. His name was replaced with a number that was branded on his forearm--73538.

Life in the Camps

73538, his father, and his brothers were forced to build barracks. The prisoners slept on wooden beds with thin straw sacks and thin blankets. Everyone slept in their clothes and they were not allowed to bathe.

73538 and the other prisoners ate once a day, at night. Their meal consisted of a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Each day, the meal was the same as the day before. "Each day was a lifetime," he said.

73538 said that he and the rest of the prisoners were often beaten. If someone was hurt or broke a leg, like his father did in 1943, the person was sent to die in the gas chambers.

In January 1945, when the Soviet army was nearing the camp, the prisoners were forced to march to another camp. 73538 and the other prisoners were put onto sealed boxcars. They spent four days on the train without food or water before they arrived at Gross Rossen, a concentration camp in Germany. In March, 73538 was sent to Dachau, another camp. On April 30, 1945, the United States Third Army liberated the prisoners. 73538 was not very excited because he was still in Nazi-controlled Germany.

After the Holocaust

73538 survived, as did his brother and a cousin. I asked him if he talked about God in the camps. He said, "God was not in the camps. No one talked of God. To talk about God was instant death." Afterward, he asked God why his family needed to die. He is still waiting for an answer.

After the war, he moved to the United States and settled in Newport News, Virginia, where he has been living for more than 50 years. He gives talks to community groups so they will never forget that the Holocaust happened and hopefully it will never happen again. I am glad this fine, friendly family man survived. 73538 is named Sam Althaus.

Jenny Weston, Trinity Lutheran School, Newport News, Virginia

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