Amid the horrors of the Nazi death camps, some managed to survive. Among them were David Szumiraj and his wife, Perla, who met in Auschwitz.
David Szumiraj arrived at Auschwitz in late 1942. His left forearm was branded with the number 1 4 5 0 8 6.While working in the potato fields, he often found himself near a young woman named Perla. Though speaking was forbidden, they exchanged meaningful glances whenever the guards weren’t watching.
Those stolen glances were enough for them to fall in love. When they were finally able to speak, David recalled, “It was already inside us, the idea that we were a couple, that we were going to get married.” Their first conversation ended with their first kiss.
In January 1945, as Soviet forces advanced, the Nazis began evacuating Auschwitz prisoners in what became one of the most infamous death marches in history—claiming 15,000 lives. After a week of surviving on nothing but snow, David’s transport train was bombed by British planes. Weighing just 38 kilograms (83 lb), he managed to stay alive by eating grass until American soldiers found him. To this day, he refuses to eat lettuce.
David had no idea where Perla was. Desperate to find her, he asked a friend to search a camp in Hamburg that housed many female prisoners. Against all odds, she was there. David learned his friend had succeeded when Perla suddenly jumped out from behind a tree at the army base where he was staying.
They married, had a daughter, and decided to relocate to Argentina to reunite with David’s surviving relatives.
Getting to Argentina was not easy for Jews. During the war, Argentina’s government had supported the Nazis and issued a secret order effectively banning Jewish immigrants.
To enter the country, many Jews falsely claimed to be Catholic, while others had to pay hefty bribes. David and Perla couldn’t afford the $20,000 immigration fees, so they turned to another option—being smuggled in from Paraguay. There, they connected with people smugglers who helped them cross into Argentina.
They left by boat in the dead of night.
“I had to tape up my daughter’s mouth,” David says, laughing.
When they finally arrived in Buenos Aires, David’s family was waiting.
“They had already prepared a lunch for us the likes of which I hadn’t seen in more than six years,” David recalls. “That was March 12, 1947. Then, in 1954, they granted us Argentine citizenship.”
sources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4206089.stm
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