Holocaust Survivor to Share Experience

Kurt Ladner's book is missing many hundreds of pages. They are pages that went unwritten because he felt no need to revist some of his worst experiences in places like Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau.

But he wrote what he wanted, finally answering questions posed many times over by family members, and now his story joins those of other Holocaust survivors, whose tales are at the same time cautionary and miraculous.

Ladner will share his story, as told in the just-released book "Life of a Holocaust Survivor," to an audience Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Function Room of Fuller Village on Blue Hill Avenue in Milton.

A former apparel salesman, Ladner lives with his wife in Fuller Village. Several years ago, he decided to put his story on paper at the urging of his cousin and as a pushback to those who say the Holocaust never happened.

"There's so many [Holocaust books] out there," he said at first, "why do I have to write another?"

But eventually the deniers inspired him to tell his story. Today, Ladner seems more relaxed about naysayers, even after his publisher was sued over the printing of another Holocaust survivor's book.

"Whatever happens, happens," he said. "Whatever doesn't happen, doesn't happen."

Born in Vienna, Austria, Ladner was 11 years old when Adolph Hitler invaded the country. He was later sent to Belgium, then fled by foot to France. But his family could not escape the German advance, and eventually he was taken, along with his parents and brother, to Terezin, the first of three concentration camps.

Ladner and his brother were moved to Auschwitz-Birkenau and then Dachau, where his brother died. Later, after he was freed, Ladner would learn that he'd lost his parents, sister and sister-in law to the camps. After the Berlin Wall fell, Ladner learned that one of his brothers had survived in Russia for decades after World War II, and that he now had two nieces.

Two years after the war, he arrived in New York City. He had two children with his first wife and two more with his second. Together, they have five grandchildren and have been married 41 years. Ladner was especially excited when his publisher provided him with 10 free books that he could give to his kids and grandkids.

As for writing the book, Ladner said before he retired he spent each evening for two years putting it together.

"You have to go back in your brain and remember when you were young," he said. "It wasn't an easy task."

Yet his mind is sharp with detail about the day American troops showed up at Dachau. His body was ravaged by hard labor and various ailments and he couldn't stand. Crawling on the floor, he looked up to see a U.S. soldier in the doorway.

The man asked if he spoke English and he said yes. Who's in charge? the soldier said. No one.

Red Cross medics took Ladner to a field hospital, where he stayed for 12 days and learned how to eat again.

"How do you explain," he said, "what it's like to be totally dominated and all the sudden you're liberated?"