HAIFA, Israel — Naftali Fürst has vivid memories of his first encounter with Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, a horrifying experience that began on November 3, 1944, when he was just 12 years old. He recalls the frantic moments as SS soldiers pulled open the doors of the overcrowded cattle car where he sat with his family and over 80 other people. The image of the towering crematorium chimneys, with flames leaping from their tops, remains etched in his mind. The chaos intensified as officers shouted commands in German, yelling “get out, get out,” compelling the terrified people to leap onto a ramp infamous for its role in the selection process conducted by the notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.
Now at the age of 92, Fürst represents a diminishing group of Holocaust survivors who can recount personal narratives of their harrowing experiences, especially as the world prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. He will be making his fourth return to the camp for this occasion, and reflects deeply on the emotions felt during that initial arrival.
“I knew we were headed toward certain death,” Fürst expressed during a conversation from his residence in Haifa earlier this month. “In Slovakia, there was a clear understanding that those who went to Poland never came back.”
In a stroke of fate, Fürst’s family arrived at Auschwitz just one day after Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler ordered the halt of gas chamber operations, as Soviet forces were advancing. This directive allowed Fürst and his family to avoid immediate execution, marking a series of fortunate coincidences that enabled his survival.
“For six decades, I refrained from discussing the Holocaust. I even avoided speaking German, despite it being my native language,” he shared. However, in 2005, an invitation to the 60th anniversary celebration of Buchenwald’s liberation changed everything. Recognizing that the number of Holocaust survivors willing to share their stories was dwindling, Fürst felt compelled to engage in memorial work and speak out. This visit to Auschwitz also follows his meeting with Pope Francis in 2016.
During the Holocaust, approximately six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis, part of a broader campaign against various groups during World War II. The Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945, a date that is now observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is estimated that around 1.1 million individuals, predominantly Jews, lost their lives at Auschwitz.
Today, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany reports that only about 220,000 Holocaust survivors remain, with more than 20% of them over the age of 90.
Fürst’s journey began in Bratislava, which was then a part of Czechoslovakia, where he experienced the first wave of oppressive measures against Jews at just six years old. During the ages of nine to twelve, he endured life in four different concentration camps, including Auschwitz. His family had considered jumping off the cattle car en route to the camp, but the suffocating conditions made escape impossible.
His father’s unwavering instruction was for the family to reunite at 11 Šulekova Street in Bratislava after the war, a promise that would guide Fürst through the darkest days. After being separated from their mother, and subsequently from their father after being tattooed with numbers, Fürst and his brother found themselves in Block 29, where few other children were present.
Amidst looming danger as Soviet forces approached, Fürst and his brother Shmuel embarked on a perilous three-day march toward Buchenwald, battling freezing temperatures and the constant threat of execution for those who fell behind. “We had to demonstrate our will to survive, one step at a time,” he remembered. Many succumbed to exhaustion and despair, and the Holocaust’s horrors were woven into their reality through his father’s directive, that they must adapt and survive.
Later, after an open-car train ride, Fürst found himself liberated from Buchenwald, a moment captured in an iconic photograph featuring Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. In that instant, disoriented and unsure, he felt utterly alone. Miraculously, within months, just as his father had mandated, the four family members reunited at the address they memorized, a temporary refuge with family friends. Tragically, the remainder of their family, including grandparents, aunts, and uncles, did not share the same fate.
On October 7, 2023, Fürst was jolted awake by news of a Hamas attack in southern Israel, instantly worrying for the safety of his granddaughter, Mika Peleg, her husband, and their young child, who lived in Kfar Aza, an area intensely impacted by the violence. “The day unfolded with terror as we struggled to gather information about their safety,” Fürst lamented. After nearly 20 hours locked away in their safe room, the family finally received word that they had survived, amid the loss of their neighbors, including Peleg’s husband’s parents.
Although Fürst expresses deep concern for the victims, he feels uncomfortable with direct comparisons between the recent violence and the Holocaust. “What happened on October 7 is a tragedy, yet it didn’t compare to the systematic extermination during the Holocaust,” he said, clarifying that the Holocaust represented a calculated death industry, capable of mass murder on an unimaginable scale.
Having previously engaged in bridging dialogue between Jewish and Arab communities, Fürst also empathizes with the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, even as he believes military action was required for Israel’s security. “My heart aches for anyone who suffers worldwide; I understand the weight of suffering,” he stated.
Recognizing his unique position as one of the last Holocaust survivors who can make the pilgrimage to Auschwitz, Fürst sees participating in these commemorative events as vital. He actively shares his story through documentaries, films, and serves as president of the Buchenwald Prisoner’s Association while working on a memorial statue at Sered’ concentration camp in Slovakia.
He feels a profound duty to represent the millions who perished, noting the power of personal narratives versus the broader statistics of loss. “Every time I conclude my testimony, I remind the youth that witnessing a Holocaust survivor’s story imposes on them an obligation to continue sharing it,” he emphasized. “They must carry that responsibility forward.”
