Holocaust survivor shines light on truth

By Samantha Tinker

The Saint John Jewish Historical Museum presented Alex Eisen as their keynote speaker for the Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 2. Eisen, a survivor of the Holocaust, spoke about his experiences fleeing Vienna, Austria to Hungary during the Second World War and later settling in Palestine. At nine years old, he watched the German army invade Vienna with “an open Mercedes and Hitler [inside].” He thought that was a beautiful sight for a child to see, until the next day when the persecution started.

Eisen explained that the Holocaust started, in his opinion, in 1938 when American President Franklin Roosevelt called a conference to discuss what to do about the Jewish people. He felt this was when the world stepped back and gave Hitler permission to continue his plans of exterminating the Jews. With his voice still gentle, he said, “I accuse the world of being silent helpers.”

Eisen’s immediate family survived the Holocaust: his father by escaping to Palestine after being arrested for having $100 in his pocket and Eisen, his mother and two sisters by disappearing in the early morning while under heavy air raid.

Eisen’s voice broke when he spoke of his grandparents, who did not survive. “To this day, it just turns my heart to mush actually.” Eisen’s grief was expressed to the crowd, “When I think of the 20 minutes it took them to die …” his voice trailed off. Eisen’s grandparents were sent to the gas chambers in 1944 with 550,000 other Hungarian Jews.

One of two people to escape from Auschwitz conveyed the danger that the railway system posed during the Holocaust. Eisen believes if England had bombed the railway when asked to by the escapee, the Germans would have no method, apart from walking, to transport the Jews to the camps. England refused. “It is something I cannot forgive,” he said.

Eisen continued his story by relating his constant fear of death, when he went into crowds to buy food he was constantly on guard. He learned to fit in, but admits he was saved only by circumstances — the Russian attacks. Upon his return to Vienna following the war, he and his family (except his father, who was in Palestine) found that in their absence, their home had become a morgue.

Eisen took a boat, packed with 3,000, people to Cyprus, was detained in a holding cell and eventually reunited with his father. By 1947 the whole family was reunited and part of Palestine was given to the Jews. The next day, armies attacked in an attempt to get the land back. Eisen was drafted into the war and eventually, joined their Air Force. Some time later, on a weekend pass, he met his wife of 60 years.

Eisen’s story ends on a positive note. He married his wife and shortly thereafter immigrated to Canada where they had two children and now, five grandchildren. Eisen, now 82 years old, continues to tell his history “to whoever wants to hear it.”

Samantha Tinker is a third-year history student at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. She is also the Editor-in-chief of The Baron student newspaper.