Watch the testimony clip of Irving Roth who has two things to ask you to do for him, for the survivors and for all of us.
Irving Roth (Ervin Roth) was born on September 2, 1929, in Kosice, Czechoslovakia in a Jewish family. His father, Joseph Roth led the family’s lumber business, while his mother, Helen Roth was a housewife. He had an older brother, Andrew. When he was five years old, his family moved to Humenné, where he started to attend state school. The living conditions and rights of the Jews worsened by March 1939, with the German occupation of the Czech lands. The Czech part became a protectorate state of Nazi Germany, while in most parts of today’s Slovakia a fascist regime was established. As a result, he could not attend school anymore and faced other major restrictions. In the beginning of the war his family managed to flee Hungary, but in 1944 they were forced into a ghetto and eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Later he was transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was liberated by the American armed forces. His parents survived the Holocaust in Budapest, his brother died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After the war with his family he emigrated to the United States. He got married, he has two sons. His interview was recorded in 1995, in the United States.