### Holocaust Survivor and WWII Soldier Reunite 80 Years After Liberation
Eighty years after the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp, Holocaust survivor Andrew Roth, 96, met Jack Moran, 98, the American soldier who helped free him. The emotional reunion, organized by the USC Shoah Foundation, brought together two men whose lives intersected amid unimaginable horror. Roth, originally from Hungary, endured Auschwitz and Buchenwald, while Moran fought in the Battle of the Bulge before witnessing the atrocities of Nazi Germany firsthand. Their meeting underscores the urgency of preserving Holocaust testimonies as survivors and liberators dwindle in number.
### Surviving the Unthinkable
Roth’s harrowing journey included being forcibly taken from his Hungarian town to a ghetto, then deported to Auschwitz, where a split-second decision to follow his uncle spared him from the gas chambers. After enduring starvation and forced labor, he was transferred to Buchenwald, where he survived by stealing dog food. Meanwhile, Moran, who enlisted at 17, faced the horrors of war in Europe, losing friends in combat before stumbling upon boxcars filled with the belongings of murdered Jews. The liberation of Buchenwald left an indelible mark on him, with General Eisenhower even inviting officials to witness the Nazi crimes firsthand.
### Preserving Memory in a Changing World
With fewer than 220,000 Holocaust survivors alive today, the USC Shoah Foundation is racing to document their stories before they are lost. Historian Rob Williams warns that Holocaust awareness is declining globally, even as antisemitism resurges. Far-right movements in Europe and the U.S. have downplayed Nazi atrocities, while violent attacks and conspiracy theories spread. For Roth and Moran, sharing their stories is not just about history—it’s a fight against forgetting. As Roth reflected on his liberation, now celebrated as his “second birthday,” the two men embraced, a poignant reminder of resilience amid humanity’s darkest chapter.
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