Three survivors of the Holocaust, who endured unimaginable horrors during at Auschwitz recount their experiences and the impact it had on their lives
January 27th marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp in Poland that saw over a million deaths of Jews during World War II. Three survivors of the Holocaust, who endured unimaginable horrors during the time, recounted their experiences and the impact it had on their lives.
“People in prison uniforms screamed: ‘Get out, get out!’,” Albrecht Weinberg, now 99, who grew up in a small German village before his life was upended by the Nazis said. His parents were deported and killed at Auschwitz in 1944. Albrecht and his siblings survived but were separated. After the war, he emigrated to the United States, returning to Germany decades later.
“We lived peacefully with our neighbours before the Nazis came,” Albrecht recalls. “But then antisemitism spread, and everything changed.”
Deported to Auschwitz in 1943, he was tattooed with a number—116927—stripping him of his identity. Forced into slave labour for two years, he witnessed unimaginable suffering. He says, “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about my family. I see the tattoo every morning when I wash my face, and it takes me back to Auschwitz.”
Albrecht now dedicates his time to educating young people about the Holocaust, ensuring the horrors are never forgotten.
Mindu Hornick, 95, was just 14 when she was taken to Auschwitz with her family. Separated from her mother and brothers on arrival, she and her sister, Bilou, were saved by a kapo who advised them to lie about their age.
“When we arrived, we didn’t know what Auschwitz was,” she remembers. “I saw my mother in the crowd and waved at her. She waved back. That was the last time I saw her.”
Mindu survived by working in Auschwitz’s Kanada section, sorting belongings of those who had been murdered. She was later transferred to another camp, where conditions, though harsh, allowed her to endure.
After the war, Mindu rebuilt her life in the UK, becoming a successful businesswoman and a dedicated Holocaust educator. “It took me 40 years to speak about what happened,” she says. “But I knew I had to share my story.”
Eva Clarke, 79, was born in the Mauthausen concentration camp just days before its liberation. Her mother, Anka, endured unimaginable hardships, losing her husband and 15 family members to the Holocaust.
“My mother survived Auschwitz while pregnant with me,” Eva explains. “She was determined to keep going, and I became her reason to live.”
Anka’s resilience allowed her to survive a 17-day journey to Mauthausen in an open coal wagon, where she gave birth to Eva while surrounded by death and disease.
Eva has spent her life sharing her mother’s story, ensuring the memory of the Holocaust is preserved. “I’ll continue to tell our story as long as I can,” she says. “It’s a unique story, and it’s important people know what happened.”
As the world marked 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the testimonies of survivors like Albrecht, Mindu, and Eva are a stark reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust and the strength of the human spirit. Their stories serve as a call to remember and to fight against hate in all its forms.
King Charles III said “the act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task” as he met Holocaust survivors in Poland. He spoke at a Jewish community centre in Krakow ahead of becoming the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz, where he attended a commemoration event to mark the 80 years since its liberation.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales met survivors at a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony in London, where William paid tribute to their “bravery”. Prince William thanked those present for their “bravery in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives”.
“We remember the survivors who live with the scars, both mental and physical,” he said. Survivors who took part included Rachel Levy, who survived Auschwitz as a 13-year-old, Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also attended the London event.
