We remember Andrew Roth

Andrew Roth, Holocaust survivor who made headlines last year for his emotional meeting with Jack Moran, a WWII liberator, passed away last week at age 98.

Andrew was born in 1927 in Penészlek, Hungary. By the time Andrew entered middle school, he faced drastic changes in his daily life as restrictions on his freedoms worsened. In 1944, Andrew and his family were forced into the Satu Mare ghetto, and later that year, Auschwitz concentration camp. Upon arrival, someone told him to say he was 18 and had an occupation, which saved his life.

Andrew was forced into Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald concentration camps, where in the latter the barracks were so packed many inmates had to sleep outside. Andrew discovered where the SS guard dog food was kept and stole it for nourishment.

Andrew was liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp on April 11, 1945—a day he celebrates as his birthday. Many of his family members perished, but he was able to reunite with his father and later immigrated to the U.S., settling in California.

He gave his testimony to the USC Shoah Foundation in 2022. He was also featured alongside Jack in the “Searching for Never Again” podcast last summer. Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/dWcejf-FyWg?si=-q-eu49BplfZkpGN

May his memory be a blessing.