Arnold Friedman was born in the Carpathian region of the Ukraine. When the prewar border adjustment known as the Anschluss occurred, he and his family suddenly found themselves living in Hungary. As such, they were offered a temporary respite from the Holocaust. While Polish and Ukrainian Jews were confronted by the Nazi onslaught in 1939-40, Hungarian Jews did not experience deportations until 1944. Arnold’s own story tells of the build-up to this, as well as his own experiences as an inmate and slave labourer.
Arnold has spoken at Crestwood several times now. He was interviewed for the Oral History project in 2009 and 2010 by members of Crestwood’s YARRD club, and he sat down for this interview with Emma Myers and Katherine Charness in the fall of 2012. He came to us courtesy of Crestwood grandparent Roma Buchman, whose own wartime story is told on another page of this project.
Videos
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- 1. Arnold Friedman - Introduction and Prewar Memories
- 2. Prewar Anti-Semitism
- 3. The Rise of Hitler
- 4. Forced into the Ghetto
- 5. Living in the Street
- 6. Train to Auschwitz
- 7. Arrival in Auschwitz
- 8. Selection
- 9. The Barracks
- 10. Daily Life; Dr. Mengele
- 11. Another Selektion
- 12. Hearing from his Father
- 13. Sonderkommando Uprising
- 14. Avoiding Mengele
- 15. Emptying the Camp
- 16. The Last Selection
- 17. Long Lasting Friendships
- 18. Long Lasting Friendships, Part Two
- 19. Working in the Camp
- 20. Strange Coincidences
- 21. The Cantor
- 22. Leaving the Camp
- 23. Gross Rosen and Dachau
- 24. The Red Cross; Liberation
- 25. Faith in God and Humanity
- 26. Fighting Racism and Anti-Semitism; Coming to Canada