Living through the terrors of the Holocaust, Manfred Goldberg has dedicated his life to ensuring history remembers the atrocities suffered by millions. At Johannesburg’s recent 80th anniversary event marking Auschwitz's liberation, this 94-year-old survivor shared his heart-wrenching journey.
The Whisper That Saved a Life
As a boy of 13, Manfred Goldberg faced unimaginable trials in a Nazi labor camp in Latvia, merely surviving thanks to a miraculous whisper. Stripped of everything, a stranger's guidance to lie about his age shifted his destiny, steering him away from a young prisoner’s grim fate. If he happens to ask your age, say you are 17,’’ advised the man, a stranger Goldberg can only describe as an angel, seemingly sent to save him.
The Holocaust wiped out 6 million Jews, and the gathering Goldberg attended emphasizes the dwindling presence of survivors to relay these critical memories—a reality compounded by rising Holocaust denial and antisemitism worldwide. Driven by this urgency, Goldberg narrated his story at the Jewish Care Holocaust Survivors' Centre.
Early Experiences of Hate
Born in Kassel, Germany, Manfred witnessed the world change drastically as the Nazis ascended. From just three years old, he was enveloped in a nation being poisoned against his people. At his Jewish primary school, violence became a daily assault as the Hitler Youth spread venomous ideologies. Manfred and his peers were relentless targets, forced to run to avoid impending brutality.
The Goldberg family warily navigated the escalating persecution. A dire attempt by his mother, Rosa, saw her pleading for help from the British Embassy, seeking haven for the family. It was Frank Foley, bypassing his official role, who granted emergency visas to Jewish families, ultimately saving thousands.
A Family Torn Apart
War restructuring began as Germany invaded Poland, shattering any escape plans. Anti-Jewish laws tightened—branding them with stars, limiting essential resources—and increased isolation for the Jewish community. During a poignant episode, Goldberg recounts an illicit bread purchase ordered by his mother, which likely meant hunger for her but crucial subsistence for her children.
The nightmare escalated in 1942, with The Final Solution initiating the grim eradication of Europe's Jews. Deemed expendable or too young, prisoners like Goldberg's brother faced immediate execution. In a relentless quest to survive, Manfred and his mother underwent the wrenching ordeal of daily labor, hauntingly aware of Herman's disappearance.
Seeking Salvation
As Nazis faltered against Soviet advances, they systematically shifted prisoners to the west, culminating at Stutthof camp, later dubbed ‘Gateway of Death’. Death was a constant shadow, the atmosphere riddled with loss. The survivors, driven from one camp to another, endured relentless marches and sequestered confinement under inhuman conditions. Miraculously, their Salvation came through a British tank column, catching the guards unawares and freeing the prisoners, amongst them Goldberg and his mother.
Post-war, his father eventually reunited, the family sought new beginnings in England. There, Goldberg built a family, keeping silent about his past's harrowing details for decades at his wife's gentle insistence to preserve normalized family life.
Breaking the Silence
Yet as time passed, the necessity to share surged strong within him. It was through his synagogue's request, and with his wife’s encouragement, that he chose to relive and recount his survivor narrative. Silence helps the oppressors, Goldberg ardently speaks, now an advocate for education against historical amnesia.
A Lifetime of Legacy
In his London home, all facets of Goldberg's life—from family portraits to gatherings—celebrate the vitality robbed from so many. A painting of young brother Herman haunts the space, eternally reminding Goldberg—and all who visit—of stories untold.
Manfred Goldberg epitomizes resilience and remembrance, ensuring the tides of time do not swell over his, and millions of others', unforgettable stories. His voice remains a symbol of defiance against oppression, a petit yet enduring torch to illuminate the past for future generations.
