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Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a remarkable discovery, a New York history educator, Matthew Rozell, restored a lost piece of history by unearthing harrowing footage that captured the heroic rescue by US soldiers of Jewish prisoners from a Nazi death train during the Holocaust, as was reported by the New York Post. The colorized video was posted on YouTube and, to the amazement of many, several Holocaust survivors came forward, recognizing themselves and their family members in the footage, the report added.
“I don’t want to say I am gratified or vindicated, because even without this footage, this is an incredible story,” said Rozell, a Holocaust researcher and decorated former history professor who had found the clip in the US National Archives, the Times of Israel reported.
Rozell published the clip to his YouTube channel on July 29 along with the archive remarks, as was reported by the Times of Israel.
“Summary: Numerous scenes, freed Jewish prisoners in groups along railroad tracks,” the comments read. “Their expressions furnish a clue to the suffering they endured. Individual shots: men, women and children, some of them in various stages of emaciation. Flashes of US soldiers distributing food. The group surrounding the soldiers push forward to receive meager bits of food. LS, village being shelled by German artillery from across the Elbe River.”
Dubbed the “Miracle at Farsleben,” the daring rescue operation occurred on April 13, 1945, when a Nazi train was transporting 2,500 Jewish prisoners from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to Theresienstadt in occupied Czechoslovakia. As was reported by the Post, the SS officers aboard the train had received orders to execute as many captives as possible should they not reach their destination. Fortunately, Allied forces bombing the area forced the locomotive to stop near the town of Farsleben, putting the prisoners in peril.
The prisoners’ lives were saved when an American tank and Jeep appeared on the scene, causing a few Nazi guards to flee, according to the Post report. The American liberators opened the doors of the carriages, freeing the emaciated and battered prisoners from the grips of the Nazi regime, rescuing them from a fate that befell millions of their brethren, the report added.
While the Farsleben train rescue had been well-documented in pictures, the recently discovered video is the first visual documentation of the incident, the Post report noted. The silent footage, captured by one of the soldiers, shows the gaunt and weary passengers sitting outside the locomotive in their tattered clothes during the aftermath of the rescue. According to the Post report, one poignant moment shows a US soldier distributing cans of food to the hungry survivors, while another captures an emaciated, shirtless man crushing lice between his thumbnails.
George Gross, a tank commander, said: “Everyone looked like a skeleton, so starved, their faces sick. And there was something else. When they saw us, they began to laugh with joy, if you can call it laughter. It was more like an outburst of pure, almost hysterical relief,” as was reported by the Times of Israel.
The TOI also reported that as prisoners encountered the liberating troops, a Jewish US soldier, Abraham Cohen, told them “Ich bin euech a Yidd,” a Yiddish phrase meaning “I am also a Jew,” and then showed them a Star of David hanging around his neck.
Jewish media outlets have successfully tracked down some of the survivors from the Farsleben train incident, some of whom were able to recognize themselves in the video. The Post report stated that for 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Jacob Barzilai, the video provided much-needed closure as he saw his mother, sister, and himself in the footage. The survivor, who was 12 at the time, remembered that his father and grandfather were also with them when the family was captured but tragically perished at Bergen-Belsen.
Speaking to Ynet News about his experience during the Holocaust, Barzilai said, “We arrived at Bergen-Belsen as five people and only three of us returned. I lost my father and my grandfather there. In the clip, I saw my mother, my sister and myself. I was very emotional seeing the footage. I was at a loss for words.”
The Times of Israel reported that his appearance in the video was first noticed by his son, Eran Barzilai, who then brought it to his attention.
“When I showed the clip to my father, he was very moved,” Eran Barzilai told Ynet. “He has been talking about these moments all these years, and suddenly there is video documentation that we had never seen before.”
Miriam Mueller, now 82, was only four years old during the ordeal. The Post reported that while she didn’t see herself in the footage, watching it evoked a flood of memories. Despite the painful memories, Mueller emphasized that she has gone on to lead a fulfilling life with 26 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and another on the way, stating that “The blessed Lord has performed a miracle with me.”
“It brought up all sorts of memories,” Mueller told Ynet.
“I had a hard time breathing afterward,” she recalled. “I said that this cursed war is just endless. We keep returning to it.”
Dula Kogan, who was also on the train, was shown the footage by Channel 12 at her Tel Aviv home and quickly identified her father, according to the Times of Israel report.
“We were really facing death,” she recalled. “And suddenly you see how you yourself were saved from death. It is hard to believe that the moment is documented.”
Matthew Rozell’s tireless efforts in uncovering information about the Miracle at Farsleben have culminated in his book, “A Train Near Magdeburg: A Teacher’s Journey into the Holocaust,” published in 2016, according to the Post report. The historian’s campaign has also inspired an ITV documentary series of the same name.
The Daily Mail of the UK reported that the video discovery marks perhaps a high water mark for Rozell, a former SUNY Geneseo professor who has spent years digging up as much info as possible on the Miracle at Farsleben.
The significance of this newfound footage goes beyond personal closure for survivors. Rozell hopes that the video will further discredit Holocaust deniers by providing undeniable visual evidence of the rescue.
“To actually see it is another nail in the coffin of Holocaust denial, we hope,” he said, the Post reported.
As Holocaust survivors share their stories, and historical artifacts like this video emerge, it becomes even more critical to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and ensure that the world never forgets this dark chapter in human history.
