Joseph Alexander at the San Diego Public Library Holocaust remembrance event
Life Before the War
Joseph Alexander was born with the name Idel Alexander in Blonie, Poland in 1922. His father was in business, and the family had a very good life. Blonie was a small town with a population of 6,000 people, 25 percent of whom were Jewish. It was a peaceful existence until Nazi Germany invaded in 1939. By 1940, the Germans had begun transporting Jews to the Warsaw ghetto.
Twelve Concentration Camps
Mr. Alexander survived 12 different concentration camps, including Dachau and the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau. He experienced the horrors of the camps until 1945 when American troops liberated the area. His entire family was murdered, but Alexander survived.
The Will to Survive
When asked how he survived when so many others perished, his answer is direct and powerful. He survived because he wanted to survive. The few other survivors he knew from the camps were thinking the same way. They had made the decision to live, and that determination carried them through unimaginable circumstances.
After liberation, he lived in Germany for four more years because the world at that time had no place for Jewish survivors.
Building a New Life
He immigrated to the United States and built a new life for himself. A good life, he said. He married and had two children. A resident of Los Angeles, he has become a leading voice for Holocaust remembrance.
The Responsibility He Carries
The responsibility he feels toward his murdered family members still drives him. He must tell their story and he must raise awareness about the Holocaust. At the age of 100+, he still drives a car, travels and gives lectures. His schedule would exhaust someone half his age. In a single week, he spoke at universities in California, attended liberation anniversaries, and flew to Germany for the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Dachau. He does not stop.
Faith Through the Darkness
I never lost faith.
People often ask him: Where was God during the Holocaust? His answer is profound in its simplicity. "God was the same place we are today. God is still here." Through everything he witnessed and endured, he never lost his faith. Even in the depths of Auschwitz, even when Dr. Mengele pointed him toward death, he believed God was guiding his steps.
The Selection at Auschwitz
In Auschwitz, Dr. Mengele directed him to go to the left. The left meant death. But something inside him, call it instinct or divine intervention, made him turn to the right instead. He believes God guided that step. Without it, he would not be here today.
His worst experience was when Dr. Mengele told him to go to the left. His best experience was when he turned to the other side.
Watch Joseph Alexander's Story
Community discussion with Joseph Alexander
From Blonie to Los Angeles
He comes from Blonie, Poland. The town had a population of 6,000 people. Twenty-five percent were Jewish. After the war, only 13 of them survived. Today, the town has 3,000 people. Not one is Jewish. The town shrank by half. That tells you what was lost.
Never Forget
When asked what "never forget" means to him, his response is clear and urgent. Never forget means this can never happen again. Each story he shares, each university lecture he gives, each community gathering he attends is an act of remembrance. At 100+, he continues to bear witness so that the world will never forget the six million who were murdered and the countless others who suffered under Nazi tyranny.
