Alexander Karp was born in Baktaloranthaza, a small town in Hungary. In 1944, when he was about 19 years old, his family was moved into the Kisvarda ghetto. His immediate family consisted of his mother and 15 year old sister, his father had been taken prisoner in Russia in 1942 and the family did not know if he was alive or dead. The family was transported to Birkenau where Mr. Karp was separated from his mother and sister. He and an uncle spent about 4 months in Birkenau. Claiming to be tool and die makers, they were sent to several different camps eventually ending up at an underground airplane factory in the Kochendorf area. In March 1945, they were evacuated to Dachau and then to Mittenwald, a town close to the Austrian border, where they were liberated. In August 1945 he was reunited with his father.
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