Holocaust Survivor Stories Preserved in U.S. Museum’s Archive Acquisition

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington has expanded its collection with the recent acquisition of a poignant archive of survivor stories, including those of Erzsebet and Ervin Barsony who endured the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.

The archive, originally curated by Centropa, a nonprofit founded in Vienna and Budapest in 2000, holds 25,000 digitized family photographs and 45,000 pages of interviews in 11 languages, shedding light on the Jewish experience in Central and Eastern Europe.

Zachary Paul Levine, director of the museum’s Archival and Curatorial Affairs Division, emphasized the significance of these personal accounts in broadening the understanding of Holocaust history.

The stories, such as those of Erzsebet Barsony losing her husband, son, and parents in the camps, provide harrowing insights into the atrocities faced by countless individuals during World War II.

Katarina Lofflerova from Bratislava recounted a chilling post-war encounter with a former classmate turned Nazi operative, underscoring the deep scars left by the Holocaust on survivors like her.

Another survivor, Anna Lanota, bravely shared her wartime experiences from Warsaw‘s Old Town, where she and her husband Edward fought against Nazi oppression, only to face unimaginable tragedy.

Edward Serotta, the founder of Centropa, dedicated his life to preserving these remarkable stories, ensuring that the enduring legacy of individuals like Erzsebet, Katarina, and Anna would be remembered for generations to come.