Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Paul Molnar - July 24, 2002

But it was a, a Buchenwald satellite camp.

Yes, yes. I do not know his name. Now, in year 2000, I was in Florida where I spend half the year and I opened the Sarasota paper and they had a exhibition in Punta Gorda, which is about forty miles from us, at the museum there about the American GIs. And actually I went down to the museum and I asked who was responsible. They gave me this man's name who lives at Coral Gables. His name is Bernie Melnick and I called Bernie and Bernie and I have seen each other a number of times since. And Bernie is the only person who I know today that all the time I was in Germany he was in the same camp as I was. He is the only-not really know each other, you understand, I didn't speak English. They were separated. But Bernie and I-there's a man here in Detroit, but I guess, he didn't want to talk to me. I called him and everything. He was also in Berga.

Also a prisoner of war.

Yes, but he just, he just, he made a date with me then he canceled out. Bernie figures he's too sick, he's too old. I mean, these fellows are-Bernie's seventy-seven. They were young, but now they're in their eighties most of 'em. Anyhow, that was a unique experience that I saw these American prisoner of war and I was with 'em. So I was in Berga and then came.

Can I ask were they all white prisoners?

Yes, they were all white, they were all white. They were mostly Jews.

Yeah, okay.

You know, maybe ninety, ninety percent were Jews, or eighty. There were some non-Jews who they figured-the Germans figured they're Jews but they really weren't. They had German sounding names, so they. But they were Jews. And uh, there's going to be a documentary, it's already being made I heard in the New York Times about them on television this fall. I think it's only going to be on public TV.