April 25, 2012
Holocaust survivor speaks at Cobb County Library
Dr. Eugen Schoenfeld, Holocaust survivor, spoke today at Cobb County's Mountain View Regional Library in Marietta.
Dr. Schoenfeld is a sociologist, Jewish scholar and Holocaust survivor. He was born in Hungary (in what is now part of Czechoslovakia.) He lived with his parents, brother, and sister until 1944 when the Nazis began rounding up the Jews in Hungary. He and his family were taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing camp in Poland. In August of 1944, they were forced to march 70 miles to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. Dr. Schoenfeld described how his severe thirst forced him to dig in the dirt until he found groundwater to drink.
In 1945, Dachau was liberated by American troops. Upon their arrival, Dr. Schoenfeld stepped forward as a volunteer translator because he spoke English.
This month, the Cobb County Public Library System is honoring the memory those who died during the Holocaust and World War II.