Naftali (Juraj) Fürst was born in 1932 in Bratislava, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia) to Margit and Artur. He had one older brother, Shmuel (Peter). After the Slovak State was declared and anti-Jewish measures were implemented, the family went into hiding but were caught. In 1942 they were interned in the Sered concentration camp. In 1944, they managed to escape to Piešťany. By then the Germans had entered and occupied Slovakia. The family members were caught once again and were reinterned in Sered, which came under German command. In November 1944 the family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where the children were separated from their parents. They were sent to the Budy subcamp and survived a "death march" to Buchenwald. It was there that they were liberated. After the war they were reunited with their parents who had survived as well. They eventually emigrated to Israel. Naftali worked as a photographer, driving instructor and manager before he retired. Today he lives in Haifa, is the father of artist Ronit Fürst and has four grandchildren.
24 янв 2023
