New York – his is a story of survival – the incredible story of how a six-year-old Jewish boy survived the Nazis’ final solution and kept how he survived a secret for more than 50 years.
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It’s the story of Alex Kurzem, who at the age of six watched his family being shot by the Nazis. He escaped and wandered alone for months until he was captured by Nazi soldiers. But instead of killing him, they made him their mascot.
Alex was so young, he quickly forgot his family name, his age, and the name of his village. But he did remember that the Nazis had fenced the Jews into a ghetto, and on his last night there Nazi soldiers burst into his house and began beating his mother.
“I remember, when she shielded me that her blood [was] dripping. I felt my face and [there] was blood on my head. But it was my mother’s blood,” Kurzem told 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon.
To watch the entire 60 minutes report click below
Or to read the story by CBS News click here
Very similar to the story on which “Europa, Europa” is based. For those who haven’t read or seen it, it is the story of a boy (a bit older then the one portrayed in the 60 Minutes piece) who gets “adopted” by a Nazi and become a member of the Hitler Jungen and survives the war.
Very sad! Hopefully one of his family members will discover the true beauty of the jewish nation and convert !
WOW!! Thats all I can say. I’m speechless. Dee aybishter zull helfen er zull layben gezunterhite biz 120 yur!
Just what we need: more straws for anti-Semites to grab at and say “Jews are the real Nazis”
I heard him yesterday being interviewed on “60 minutes” on the radio. What he said that doesn’t say here is that he found out that he was born in Koidinov in Lithuania, and that his father died 20 years ago and he met his half brother (from his fathers marriage after WWII). He settled in Australia, got married and has children, and that his son wrote this book. A big nebach which ever way you look at it. Boruch Hashem that he survived and is alive to tell his tale, but the Nazis did tear him away from his people.
While I was listening, I was overcome with emotion, and was thinking, ver veist how many more like him there were who died with their secret, and how many more are still among us who will finally find their family and reconnect to their roots.
for those of us who were in the Holocaust parts of his story seemed fabricated. The basis is probably true but he has exagerated many parts to make his story more believeable.
Amzaing book. I have read many Holocaust history books but this story is so unique. I
Interesting that nothing is said if any of the children are jewish or not.
He was not the first jewish nazi soldiers, there were jews who hid by infiltrating as nazi soldiers.
My mother A’H had a woderful saying “a ki had a lange zing and ken nisht reden , a mensch a had a kurze zing in turn nisht reden” had this man known this proverb he may not have appeared on 60 min. I lived under Hitler for seven years of which 4 in Ghettos/.concentration camps. I lost my parents, brother and cousins. I gave testimony to the Shoah group and when my wife asked will you tell them everything you told me I said no and kept my word. The question whether his wife is immaterial what is pertinent that for ever “mascot” in the Ghetto Lodz during Sperre for an entire week the Reichsautobahn trailers every day where loaded with women, men and children left the Ghetto and the end station was Treblinka and Chelmno, the gas vans and gas chambers. Some survivors should have their mouth and fingers taped.
You show a video and to those who are familiar with German uniforms the helmets are not German helmets although the hand granates are the German type. Maybe somebody more astute than I can explain this discrepancy.