|
| Al Marks makes history come alive |
Editor: Grassini, Anna
|
 |
On August 25, 2009, Al Marks spoke to the members of the Greenway River Oaks about his story of surviving the Nazi death camps. His story made history come alive and touched all the members. See why Rotary can enrich your life.
|
| Al Marks tells a story of growing up poor in Hungary during the times before the second World War. His dad was a railroad employee--they lived in a modest apartment near the railway in Budapest. There was no indoor bath so at night in the winter they had to risk the elements to go outside. On June 4, 1944 the world as he knew changed. He was taken , along with his parents. The Germans forced over 100 other people on a cattle car that should have carried only 40. During the trip, at least 10 people died. Al remember that they were those with diabetes who could not survive under those conditions. Then they arrived to Auschwitz.
In the blink of an eye the infamous death doctor (Mengele) divided the crowd to the left and to the right--Al never saw his parents again and did not have time to kiss them goodbye. He went to the left. He was not yet 15. He remembers being taken in another cattle car to Malthausen, and then on from there to Melcher, another death camp. The prisoner lived miserably and worked to dig underground tunnels. His job was to keep the drill going by sharpening the drill bits. He saw all kinds of horrors.
Al looks serene when he tells his story of cruelty and suffering. But his eyes get teary eyed when he tells you about the day in May, 1945, when Bob Persinger drove the first tank of the US 3rd Cavalry across the doors of Ebense. On the eve of the final days of the Second World War, Ebense is the camp where Al and the other prisoners had been taken to be killed by the Germans. It turns out that the night before they were liberated, the camp elders had refused to go into the tunnels, as had been ordered by the Germans. They knew that the Germans would blow up the entry to the tunnel and kill them there. Instead, they decided to take a chance and refuse. The Germans would have to kill them with their guns...in a place of no hope, a small gesture of defiance that saved Al's life. Because Bob Persinger arrived the next day and liberated him. And this is when Al's eyes get teary.
In 1948, Al came to America as a war orphan. The kind lady who was processing his papers gave him a choice as to where he could come to live--and Houston was one of the places. He could not choose since he did not know--and so she chose for him. The rest, as they say, is history. Al has lived in Houston ever since. He married his Houston sweetheart and after over 50 years of marriage he still thinks she is the loveliest lady. Al made a living with a big band that celebrated many events in Houston, including the opening of the addition to the Cohen House at Rice.
And so we are grateful to Al for coming to share his story with the Greenway River Oaks Rotary of Houston. If you you are wondering why becoming a member of Rotary may make sense, think about the amazing history lesson you could have heard today. Personally, I found today's story so moving and human and hopeful that it would have been worth years of being in Rotary just by itself.
Come join us--you never know what will touch your heart next. Thanks Al for making this moment possible. We owe it to you to alwyas remember. |
|
|
|
