Sami Steigmann, Holocaust Survivor

Sami Steigmann was born in Romanian controlled territory in December 1939. Before he turned two years old, he was a prisoner at the Mogilev-Podolski concentration camp. He was five when the war ended, but the impact of the Holocaust on his family and his own life carry on to this day.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Steigmann, shares the horrible conditions of his father's childhood, how Romania started as a Soviet ally but then aligned with Nazi Germany, and what life was like under both.

Steigmann then explains the brutal conditions at Mogilev-Podolski and the desperate effort to find food. He shares what his father gave up for bread and tells us about the mysterious stranger who saved his own life. He was also subjected to medical experiments by the Nazis.

We'll also learn about the nightmares Steigmann suffered after the war, why Steigmann's family moved to Israel in 1961, and about his service in the Israeli Air Force before he came to the United States.

Now a public speaker about the Holocaust, Steigmann shares why it is vital for all generations to understand what happened and how and why is happened.