By: Sara Olkon

When the Red Army arrived to free prisoners at the Nazis’ Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland 60 years ago today, the liberation held little meaning, at first, to those who had somehow survived.

Jan. 27, 1945, was simply another day in hell for people who had been isolated, forced on death marches or enslaved at munitions plants.

Liberation gave way to a new set of horrors: survivor’s guilt. The knowledge that loved ones were dead or the uncertainty of not knowing. There was crippling illness. Often, they found, strangers had stolen their homes.

The Herald talked to some South Floridians who were prisoners at one time in Auschwitz, as well as a soldier who helped liberate a Nazi work camp, about the anniversary.

Arno Erban
Morris Rosenblat
Kathy Berger
Halina Laster
Warren Melgaard and Leo Rosner

South Florida Commemorations

The Simon Wiesenthal Center will hold two candle-lighting programs. The commemorations are free, but reservations are suggested. Each program will be followed by a screening of the film Unlikely Heroes, which documents lesser-known stories of men and women who resisted the Nazis during World War II.

• Today: 7:15 p.m., Temple Beth Sholom, 4144 Chase Ave., Miami Beach. Call 305-538-7231.
• Feb. 2: 7:15 p.m., Temple Beth El, 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton. Call 561-391-8900.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2005 and is filed under history.