1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: From Puduromedia and PRX. It's Latino Usa. I'm Mariaino Rossa Today. 2 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: The story of the first Mexican American to register as 3 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: a Holocaust survivor and the scars that stayed with him. 4 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: In October of twenty ten, a man in his late 5 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: eighties walked into the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, 6 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 1: d C. And then registered himself as a Holocaust survivor. 7 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: His name was Anthony Acevedo, and on that day he 8 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: carried with him items including a Red Cross armband, a 9 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: Catholic prayer book, and most importantly, a tattered war diary 10 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: with the pages still intact. Anthony was one of three 11 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty American soldiers who were imprisoned in a 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: Nazi concentration camp during World War Two, but he chose 13 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: to keep this part of his life a secret. Throughout 14 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: our piece, you'll hear Anthony in his own words in 15 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: segments of an oral history that he recorded at the 16 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: Holocaust Museum back in twenty ten. You're also going to 17 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: hear excerpts from his diary, which are read by an 18 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: actor and so dear listener to commemorate the anniversary of 19 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: Anthony A. Savedo's registration at the Holocaust Museum, and to 20 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: honor Anthony's legacy and shed light on this overlooked aspect 21 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: of history, We're going to bring back this story that 22 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: originally aired in twenty eighteen. Producer Janis Emoca brings us 23 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: the story now. 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 2: Anthony Savedo grew up in a Mexican household in Pasadena, California, 25 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 2: east of Los Angeles, and much of his childhood was 26 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 2: pretty typical of the time. He played with his cousins, 27 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 2: went to school, attended church. But then one day in 28 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: the mid nineteen thirties, when Anthony was almost ten years old, 29 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 2: he noticed that all his family's furniture had been packed up. 30 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 2: So he asked his mom what was going on. 31 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 3: What's happened? 32 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 4: Where are you going? 33 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 3: They said, no, we're all going, and he says where 34 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 3: are we going? He says, we're going to Mexico and says, 35 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 3: why is it? Because we were told to leave the 36 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 3: United States. 37 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 2: Anthony himself had been born in the US, but his 38 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 2: parents they were undocumented, and at the time, many Mexican 39 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 2: American families were being pressured to leave the US in 40 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: something known as the Mexican repatriation in the nineteen thirties. 41 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 2: Mexicans were the largest and most recent immigrant group to 42 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 2: settle in the US, and following the Great Depression, they 43 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 2: were scapegoats for the economic downturn. Historians say that somewhere 44 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 2: between half a million and two million immigrants, as well 45 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 2: as US citizen like Anthony, were forced out of the country. 46 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 2: So Anthony and his family moved south to Mexico, to 47 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 2: the state of Durango. 48 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 3: Oh, they call me gringo because I was born in 49 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 3: the United States and I know half English and half Spanish, 50 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 3: and that was kind of difficult. 51 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 2: But Anthony gets by, DAPs, grows up, and then World 52 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 2: War Two starts, and right at the end of nineteen 53 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: forty one, Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbor and the United 54 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 2: States enters the war. 55 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: No matter how long it may take us, the American 56 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: people in their right, just Mike will win collab. 57 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 2: By this point, Anthony is seventeen, and all of a sudden, 58 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: the US is trying to enlist any men of fighting age, 59 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 2: including Anthony, even though he'd been repatriated to Mexico. 60 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 3: The Consul general the United States was after me because 61 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 3: of my age. Getting ready to go back in the 62 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 3: United States and serve your country. 63 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 5: Yes, sir, he was drafted. 64 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 2: So he packed his bags, said goodbye to his family, 65 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 2: and headed back to the US to answer the call. 66 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 2: He went to California and was trained to be an 67 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 2: army medic, and then in the fall of nineteen forty four, 68 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 2: he was sent to Europe to. 69 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 3: Meet the German drive Generalizeenhower. Here at Supreme Headquarters, resourcefuly 70 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 3: regrouped his forces, giving key in. 71 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 2: A group of soldiers he was with took a train 72 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 2: to a small town in Germany called Phillipsburg. By this 73 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 2: time it was late December of a really hard winter, 74 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 2: and when they got out of the train, snow was 75 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: wat deep in some places. A few miles away, the 76 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 2: Battle of the Bulge was underway. It was a German's 77 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 2: last major offensive of the war. It was difficult for 78 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 2: Anthony to find the wounded. There were bullets buzzing through 79 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 2: the air, and the calls of medic medic were lost 80 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 2: in the echoes of the fighting taking place in the forest. 81 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: But he found some of the injured soldiers, and one 82 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 2: by one he tried to help them. 83 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 3: While he was doing repair jobs. First aid sutures and 84 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 3: sewing thumbs, cutting a leg off and throwing a turniquet 85 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 3: and sewing up the leg the stump, doing this and 86 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 3: that as a medica. 87 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 2: The battle lasted for days until finally Anthony's unit ran 88 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 2: out of ammunition. The Americans began destroying everything, equipment, firearms, 89 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 2: anything that the Nazis could use against them, and they 90 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 2: decided it was time to surrender, so a scout walked 91 00:05:53,640 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 2: out and waved a white flag. It was January sixth, 92 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 2: nineteen forty five. Anthony and thousands of other American soldiers 93 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 2: were taken to a prison camp known as Stalic nine 94 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 2: B in bad Orb, Germany. The prisoners were referred to 95 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 2: by numbers instead of their names. Anthony was two seven 96 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 2: zero one six. Then on February eighth, all the soldiers 97 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 2: were commanded to line up. 98 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 3: And the commander said, all American Jews with names Jewish, 99 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 3: take two steps forward. 100 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 2: Anthony says that at that point people who had any 101 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 2: markers of their Jewish faith little star medals or dog 102 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 2: tags with an H written on them for Hebrew, desperately 103 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 2: began to try to get rid of him, but to 104 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 2: no avail. That day, the Nazis selected about ninety Jewish 105 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 2: soldiers and another two hundred and sixty soldiers labeled undesirable 106 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 2: men who they simply thought look Jewish, consider trouble makers, 107 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 2: or any type of other This included twenty year old Anthony. 108 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 2: It could have been because he was brown skinned, or 109 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 2: because he was Catholic, or they saw him as a 110 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 2: trouble maker. We don't know for sure. They didn't need 111 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 2: a reason. The following day, the Nazis put the undesirables 112 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 2: on a train a box car. 113 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 3: You couldn't kneel, you couldn't squat. For six days in 114 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 3: those box cars, fellas couldn't defecate that all, they had 115 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 3: to do it right there. And for six days you 116 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 3: couldn't eat nothing. You could have nothing to eat, nothing 117 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 3: to drink, but the snow that hit the from the cracks. 118 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 3: You tried or punk your hand through the slot window 119 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 3: to get the drops of water from the rain. 120 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 2: Eventually they arrived at a concentration camp known as Berga. 121 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 2: It was a subcamp of Buchenwald, one of the largest 122 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 2: Nazi concentration camps. 123 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 3: It was so snowy that you couldn't catch the glimpse 124 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 3: very well, but you see like towers of houses. 125 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 2: The men were divided into groups of sixty to eighty 126 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 2: men per Barck. There were other prisoners in the camp 127 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 2: as well, mainly European Jews, but they were separated from 128 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 2: the American prisoners. The captured soldiers were forced to work 129 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 2: in the camp. Many were put to work digging tunnels 130 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 2: for underground fuel factories the Nazis were working on. Since 131 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 2: Anthony was one of just a few medics in the camp, 132 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 2: he was tapped with trying to keep the men alive 133 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 2: as they worked. One day, the men were given a 134 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 2: rare red Cross package and in it a couple of 135 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 2: empty journals. So Anthony took one and began writing in secret. 136 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 2: He sketched the places and the scenes he witnessed. He 137 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 2: even sketched a couple of pinup girls, and to keep 138 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 2: the diary safe, he tucked it under his belt. 139 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 5: March twentieth, nineteen forty five, Yesterday our planes dropped leaflets 140 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 5: as well as bombs. Six men were sent to a 141 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 5: British hospital. Five more men escaped today. Goldstein's body was 142 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 5: returned here today for burial. He was shot while attempting 143 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 5: to re escape, so they say, but actually was recaptured 144 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 5: and shot through the head. 145 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 2: Anthony's diary became a record of daily life in the camp. 146 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 5: March twenty second, nineteen forty five, Private Schultz died of malnutrition. 147 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 5: This is the fourth man to die. The weather is 148 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,679 Speaker 5: beauty and it looks like spring, which has finally come 149 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 5: to Germany. By this time, back home, I'd be suffering 150 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 5: from hay fever. 151 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 3: We had got one hundred grams of bread per week. 152 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 3: The one hundred bred brands of bridge is not much. 153 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 3: It was a mixed of barley with sawdust, ground glass 154 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 3: and ground sam. 155 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 5: March twenty fifth, nineteen forty five, Palm Sunday. No chances 156 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,719 Speaker 5: of going to a church, but still our prayers are 157 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 5: holding everyone up. 158 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 3: This day. 159 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 5: It reminded me of the hundreds of people attending Mass 160 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 5: at the cathedral in Durango, Mexico. I wish I could 161 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 5: be there now. March thirtieth, nineteen forty five, Good Friday. 162 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 5: On this holy day, our thoughts are all at home 163 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 5: and of the coming Easter Sunday. It is also the 164 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 5: feast of the Passover for our Jewish comrades, and they 165 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:00,680 Speaker 5: also think of home and family. 166 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 2: As the journal entries went on, the more Anthony wrote 167 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 2: about the horrors in Berga, men from his unit began 168 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 2: to die in greater numbers from alnutrition or beatings, or 169 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 2: being overworked. 170 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,680 Speaker 5: April second, nineteen forty five, two more of our men 171 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 5: died today, and one last night makes three plus sixteen 172 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:28,439 Speaker 5: makes nineteen. Living in unsanitary conditions, water must be boiled 173 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 5: before it is drunk, no latrines. Deaths are increasing in 174 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 5: great number. Men forced to work in the mind whether 175 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 5: they are ill or not. 176 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 2: Sometimes Anthony simply recorded deaths. 177 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:48,679 Speaker 5: Rogers March ninth, nineteen forty five, Young March twelfth, nineteen 178 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:55,839 Speaker 5: forty five, Goldstein March tenth, nineteen forty five, Goldberg March 179 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 5: twenty fifth. 180 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 6: I knew that maybe someday it would be a valuable 181 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 6: thing for us to know that that there was important. 182 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:13,559 Speaker 3: I had a fountain ten with me that I was 183 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 3: rising all the time with it, and I don't know 184 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 3: how God gave me that. Ain't the less. 185 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, American forces inch closer to 186 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: defeating the Nazis and liberating the men at Berga. 187 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 5: Received very good news today. The Americans are two hundred 188 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 5: and fifty kilometers from here and moving fast. 189 00:12:51,200 --> 00:13:07,839 Speaker 1: Stay with us, Hey, we're back. And when we left off, 190 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: twenty year old Anthony Esevedo was documenting his daily life 191 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,679 Speaker 1: as a prisoner inside a Nazi concentration camp known as Berga. 192 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: Producer Jennie Yamoga picks up the story now, but it themples. 193 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 5: I hear at shase that the next few days will 194 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 5: be spent building up. 195 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 2: Our forces east of the Rhine. By April, US troops 196 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 2: had successfully crossed the Rhine River, one step closer to 197 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 2: defeating Germany. Wile British and American troops were crossing the 198 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 2: Rhine north of the Roar, the last German resistance west 199 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,319 Speaker 2: of the Rhine collapsed. They were nearing Berga, and Anthony 200 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 2: and his fellow prisoners were hearing rumors. 201 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 5: Received very good news today. The Americans are two hundred 202 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 5: and fifty kilometers from here and moving fast. Received good news. 203 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 5: Americans are only two high hundred kilometers away from here, 204 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 5: which means they're excellent news today. Americans are only one 205 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 5: hundred kilometers from here. Said that our boys were sixty 206 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 5: kilometers from us. 207 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 2: The Nazis evacuated the sub camp and forced the remaining 208 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 2: soldiers on a death march that would last three weeks 209 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 2: and over two hundred miles. 210 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 5: April ninth, nineteen forty five, we marched ten kilometers. Today. 211 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 5: We're supposed to go to the town of hof but 212 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 5: we arrived to a big barn for our air corps 213 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 5: were bombing that town continuously. We started out with three 214 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 5: hundred and four men from Berga. We now have two 215 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 5: hundred and eighty seven men. 216 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 2: Many of the men died on the march. Their bodies 217 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 2: were left by the side of the road. 218 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 5: Stuart April fifth, nineteen forty five. Vogel April ninth, nineteen 219 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 5: forty five. 220 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 2: Weeks went by. Then suddenly, very early in the morning, 221 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 2: the men heard firing like thunder in the distance. The 222 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 2: Americans were getting closer. The Nazis wanted to continue marching 223 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 2: and threaten the men that they shoot them if they 224 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 2: didn't continue, but Anthony and another medic stood their ground, 225 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 2: and the Nazis, afraid of the advancing troops, fled. 226 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 3: We started hearing the rumbling getting closer, and we all 227 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 3: started to run towards the highway. 228 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 2: When they got to the highway, they found the eleventh 229 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 2: Armor Division. The men were finally free again. 230 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 5: We were liberated today April the twenty third, nineteen forty five. 231 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 2: Out of three hundred and fifty American soldiers, about half 232 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 2: of the men's ur y Berga, and many of the 233 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 2: remaining men were close to death. When Anthony was first captured, 234 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 2: he weighed one hundred and forty nine pounds. By the 235 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 2: time he was set free, seven the surviving men, including Anthony, 236 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 2: were taken to hospitals, and by June they were on 237 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 2: their way back home to the US. But there was 238 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 2: one condition, one that the former captives didn't quite understand, 239 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 2: so we. 240 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 3: Had to sign it up and David where we had 241 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 3: to swear that we never were in a condition or 242 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 3: suffered in a condition that we had got through by 243 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,000 Speaker 3: the Germans. 244 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 2: The war was still going on and the US military 245 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 2: wanted to keep exactly what went on inside the Nazi 246 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 2: prison camps a secret, since they had soldiers being held 247 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 2: as prisoners of war and believed information getting out could 248 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 2: put them at risk. Some men like Anthony, were told 249 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 2: they had to sign this document. 250 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 3: They threatened us to be jailed federally by the United 251 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 3: States government. 252 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 2: The National Security or not. For the men who survived Burka, 253 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 2: it felt like they were being told to keep their 254 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 2: trauma a secret, like they didn't have a choice. So 255 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 2: Anthony signed the document and for years he didn't talk 256 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 2: much about what he saw in Berga. After the war, 257 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 2: Anthony went back to Mexico then settled in California. He 258 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 2: got married and he started a family, and he worked 259 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,160 Speaker 2: as an engineer in the aerospace industry for many years. 260 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 2: Here's his son, fer Nando A. Savedo. 261 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 7: I just remember sitting at the table and it was 262 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 7: being a kid that's real picky about what they're eating. 263 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,120 Speaker 7: And I just remember my dad stating when I would 264 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 7: leave the edges of the bread when I was a 265 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 7: prisoner a war, that's all I had to eat, And 266 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 7: that just stuck with me. 267 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 2: Fernando is one of Anthony's four children, and he says 268 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 2: his father did a pretty good job of hiding what 269 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 2: he'd been through. 270 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 7: If you look at my dad in those years, you 271 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,920 Speaker 7: could not tell he had gone through anything that was 272 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,719 Speaker 7: an extreme in nature, because I mean, he hid his 273 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:06,679 Speaker 7: PTSD so well. 274 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 2: Still, it was impossible to hide everything. 275 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 7: Oh, my dad would just take off, he'd be gone, 276 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 7: I don't know where he went. And then I'd hear 277 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 7: my mom go out there and it's like where everybody go. 278 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 7: And then I'll see you out there and I hear 279 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 7: my dad crying. I would see my mom massage in 280 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 7: the back of his head and I would ask, you know, 281 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,399 Speaker 7: what's wrong with what's wrong with Poppy? And she would 282 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 7: say he's going through something traumatic. And then my dad 283 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 7: would say, I'll be okay, I'll be okay. And that 284 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 7: happened often. 285 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 2: Fernando also remembers how at home his father always kept 286 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,920 Speaker 2: his war diary on the nightstand. It was small and 287 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 2: greenish gray, with a red outline of a lion and 288 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 2: the words a wartime log on the cover. It was worn, 289 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 2: a little beat up, like it belonged inside a glass 290 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 2: case in some museum. 291 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,399 Speaker 7: He had it at the nightstand at the end of 292 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 7: the hallway, and it was just sitting there. 293 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:15,680 Speaker 2: For Fernando and his siblings. It was just an old 294 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 2: book filled with his father's handwriting, some sketches, and a 295 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 2: few empty pages. 296 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 7: Even our older brother kind of doodled in the back 297 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 7: with crowns. Thankfully we didn't mess up all the really 298 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 7: important pages. It was in the back where there was 299 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,680 Speaker 7: just blank pages. 300 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 2: And for a long time the diary just sat there 301 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 2: on the nightstand, holding Anthony's secrets within its yellow pages. 302 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 2: As an adult, Fernando took a job at the same 303 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 2: company as his father, and eventually, during their long commutes, 304 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 2: his dad told him the story about what he went 305 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 2: through about World War two, about getting captured Berga. But 306 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 2: since the story of the soldiers at Burga hadn't been 307 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 2: officially recognized by the US Army, even though ANTHONYA started 308 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 2: to talk about it here and there with people at 309 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,960 Speaker 2: work or at the veterans hospital, many didn't believe him. 310 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 7: Throughout my years, I do remember my father telling me, 311 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 7: you know, he would shake his head and he felt 312 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:20,440 Speaker 7: very hurt. 313 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 5: He was very hurt. 314 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 7: Even the amount and the extremness of his PTSD, people 315 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 7: would even question that. 316 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 2: Fernando knew his father's story needed to be told and 317 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 2: wanted to share it on a larger scale. In two 318 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 2: thousand and six, he reached out to CNN, and two 319 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 2: years later his father did a public interview. 320 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 3: He says, I can't believe this. Nobody knows about us. 321 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 3: At eighty four as all who shares the diary, no 322 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,720 Speaker 3: one was supposed to see. Two more of our men 323 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:56,360 Speaker 3: died today and while lost last night makes three. 324 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,120 Speaker 2: As a result, one man named Martin Vogel found out 325 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 2: what happened to his brother Jack, who was in Burgo 326 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 2: with Anthony and died there. 327 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 4: My brother was a year and a half older than 328 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 4: I was, but we were very, very close. He had 329 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 4: finished two years of college. The draft board called him 330 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 4: and said, your name has come up. You have to 331 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 4: go into the army. And by the time I was eighteen, 332 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 4: I went into the army, and when I came home 333 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,679 Speaker 4: they told me that my brother had died in a 334 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 4: prisoner of Rock camp. 335 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 2: And for sixty three years Martin had no idea what 336 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,199 Speaker 2: happened to his brother, But when he read that CNN article, 337 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 2: he saw that Anthony wrote his brother's name and his 338 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 2: diary as one of the deaths in. 339 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 5: Berga Vogel, April ninth, nineteen forty five. 340 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 2: It was the first time, after years of searching, that 341 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 2: he finally learned about his brother's final moments. His brother 342 00:21:52,840 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 2: had died in Anthony's arms. Martin still finds it hard 343 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 2: to talk about his brother. 344 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 4: It brings back memories. After all, we only lived He 345 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 4: was nineteen when he went into the service, and we 346 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 4: had only nineteen years together. So it wasn't that long, 347 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 4: but we had a wonderful relationship. Just talking about it now, 348 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 4: I find it difficult to continue a coherent conversation because 349 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 4: I get so upset. 350 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 2: Anthony's diary also caught the attention of Kira Schuster, a 351 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 2: curator at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, who reached 352 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:46,360 Speaker 2: out to him. 353 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 8: And that was a big part of why I did 354 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 8: reach out to them, was because I wanted to see 355 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 8: if maybe we could acquire his diary for our permanent collection, 356 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 8: because at that point we had no original artifacts in 357 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 8: our permanent collection from the Burke Camp. 358 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 2: In twenty ten, Anthony and his family visited Washington, d c. 359 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 2: And he formally donated the items he saved from his captivity, 360 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 2: a red cross armband, a small palm cross, a Catholic 361 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 2: prayer book, some personal photographs, and most importantly, his diary. 362 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 2: The museum has more than two hundred diaries in its collection, 363 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,679 Speaker 2: but this diary, it was the first written by an 364 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 2: American born survivor of a concentration camp. 365 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 3: I speak for all my buddies, it with her. Yeah, 366 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 3: I do this with honor. I turned this over to the. 367 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:43,159 Speaker 2: Halla Fartusium Kira says the donation received quite a bit 368 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 2: of press and led to many other survivors of Berga 369 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,880 Speaker 2: or their families also donating materials, including three other diaries 370 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 2: from the camp. During his visit, Kira introduced Anthony to 371 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 2: a Holocaust survivor who was a volunteer at the museum. 372 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 8: And so I introduced the two of them, and he 373 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 8: was so taken aback and surprised, and he looked at 374 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:04,239 Speaker 8: me and he was like, thank you so much for 375 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 8: introducing me to her. I've never met a Holocaust survivor before. 376 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,879 Speaker 8: And I said, but you're a Holocaust survivor. 377 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 2: But until that moment, he never thought of it that way. 378 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 2: It's a sensitive topic. Who should be considered a Holocaust 379 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 2: survivor and who isn't. So many suffered during the war, 380 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,439 Speaker 2: but the prisoners of war held at the Burga concentration 381 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 2: Camp were used as slave laborers, and their living conditions 382 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,880 Speaker 2: were so horrific that scholars consider them survivors of the Holocaust. 383 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 2: Anthony registered as a Holocaust survivor in twenty ten. 384 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 8: And I can confirm Tony was the first Mexican American 385 00:24:53,920 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 8: Catholic Holocaust survivor to register with the museum. 386 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 2: Anthony Azevedo died on February eleventh, twenty eighteen. He was 387 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 2: ninety three. Before Anthony shared his story in a big way, 388 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 2: he visited a local school in California and spoke to 389 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 2: a group of junior high students about his experience in 390 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 2: a Nazi concentration camp. It was one of the first 391 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 2: times he shared his story, and he was taken aback 392 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,399 Speaker 2: that the students they didn't really know anything about the 393 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 2: soldiers held at Berga. 394 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,680 Speaker 3: You see tears coming down. It affects them, but they 395 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,679 Speaker 3: all say, why didn't my father tell me about this? 396 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 3: And why did my grandma didn't tell me about this? 397 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,160 Speaker 3: Why didn't the school tell us about this? 398 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 2: Anthony's own story came close to not being included in 399 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 2: this history until, with the help of a little gray 400 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 2: green diary and a fountain pen, he wrote himself. 401 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: In In two thousand and nine, a year after Anthony 402 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: did a public interview with CNN, the US Army finally 403 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: recognized that three hundred and fifty soldiers held as prisoners 404 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 1: at Berga sixty four years later. This episode was produced 405 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,199 Speaker 1: by Janis Yamoca and edited by Annie Avilis. It was 406 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: mixed by Stephanie Lebau. The Latino USA team also includes 407 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:02,400 Speaker 1: Julia Caruso, Jessica Ellis, Victoria Streva, Renad Junior, Andrea Lopez Grussado, 408 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: Luis Luna, Glordi, mar Marquez, Marta Martinez, Nor Saudi and 409 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: Nancy Trujillo. Peri Lei Ramirez is our co executive producer 410 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,400 Speaker 1: along with myself and I'm your host marieo Josa. Join 411 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: us again on our next episode. In the meantime, I'll 412 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: see you on all of our social media see you 413 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: on Instagram by note Bayas. 414 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 8: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 415 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 8: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians, 416 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:43,680 Speaker 8: The Heising Simons Foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities more 417 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 8: at hsfoundation dot org, and the Ford Foundation, working with 418 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:54,959 Speaker 8: visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.