As a Holocaust survivor on the cusp of his 99th birthday, little surprises Abram Goldberg — but a recent email to his son from Europe got pretty close.
The email came from German documentary maker Tanja Cummings, who said a man featured in one of her films remembered Abram Goldberg from when they were young men inside the Lodz ghetto, in Nazi German-occupied Poland, during World War II.
“She came across dad’s name and things clicked together,” said Abram’s son Charlie Goldberg.
“The word I keep on using is ‘astounding’.”
Abram now lives a comfortable life in Elsternwick in Melbourne, with his children, grandchildren and even a great-grandchild living nearby.
It’s a far cry from the nonagenarian’s traumatic younger years growing up in a Jewish family, during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
“Of my generation, there are not many survivors left,” Abram said.
Eight decades ago, Abram and his parents and three sisters were imprisoned inside the Lodz ghetto.
Along with about 200,000 others, they endured forced labour, starvation, brutal violence and terror.
Only he and his sister survived.
“My mum, she was gassed and cremated in Auschwitz, this I know for sure; I know my father and the majority of my family, extended family were murdered,” he said.
Read the article and watch the report with Nicole Asher on 7.30.