Holocaust Survivor Finds Solace in Son's Commitment to Preserve His Story
An elderly Holocaust survivor who endured persecution as a child in Nazi-occupied Hungary has expressed profound comfort in knowing that his son will continue to share his harrowing experiences with future generations. Paul Sved, now 87 years old, works alongside his son Richard with the Holocaust Educational Trust to ensure that the memories of the Holocaust are never forgotten.
A Childhood Shattered by Antisemitic Policies
Born into a Jewish family in Budapest in February 1938, Paul Sved initially lived a largely secular existence and was unaware of his Jewish heritage. This innocence was shattered when the Hungarian government's antisemitic policies began to directly impact his young life. Speaking ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, Mr Sved recalled his first memory of the looming troubles.
"My first remembrance of troubles ahead was the fact that I was not allowed to go to nursery school," he revealed. "Because my mother always wanted to protect me from the troubles which she knew was coming, she did not say why I couldn't go."
Life Under Nazi Occupation and Forced Hiding
The situation deteriorated dramatically when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944. Jewish citizens were compelled to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing and faced severe discrimination on public transport. Mr Sved's apartment building was designated a "yellow star house," reserved exclusively for Jewish residents, forcing him to share a bedroom with complete strangers.
His courageous mother, Piroska Birnfeld, managed to obtain false identity papers, allowing them to restart their lives in Budapest posing as Roman Catholics. This dangerous deception required young Paul to memorise entirely new identities and learn Catholic prayers by heart.
"I had to learn new names, new birth dates, new names for my mother, and I had to learn prayers – Roman Catholic prayers, which my mother drilled into me," Mr Sved explained. "I've lived in England now since 1957, but to this day, it was so drilled into me I could still rattle off all these prayers in Hungarian."
The Terrifying Reality of Hidden Survival
After their true identities were accidentally revealed during a shopping trip, the pair were forced to return to the Jewish district. Recognising that the "yellow star" block was no longer safe, Ms Birnfeld sought help from her brother Imre, who found them a hiding place in the cellar of a Budapest apartment building.
"There were 10 of us hidden by some do-gooding people who tried to hide us and save us," Mr Sved recounted. "It was very dark, pitch dark in there. Food was lowered once a day and the remains hauled up once a day on a pulley. Now this, at age six, I was not prepared to accept, and I howled."
He described the psychological torment of their confinement: "I remember saying that 'I can't stand this, I can't stand this'. It was so dark that I remember it made no difference whether my eyes were open or shut; it was pitch dark either way."
Post-War Challenges and Eventual Escape
With his uncle's assistance, Paul and his mother eventually moved to a Swiss-protected house before finding refuge with a non-Jewish family in a cottage outside Budapest. They returned to the city in late 1945, reuniting with his grandparents. However, peace remained elusive as Russia assumed control of Hungary, branding them "class enemies" of the Communist regime.
Following the regime's overthrow in 1956, Mr Sved escaped to England the following year, where he built a new life. He established a career in the textiles industry, raised three children, and began sharing his testimony through the Holocaust Educational Trust, speaking regularly in schools, colleges, workplaces, and even football clubs.
The Rewards of Educational Outreach
"One of the main rewards that I get visiting schools and colleges is the warm reaction, the questions, the clapping at the end, and kids crowding around me afterwards wanting to ask more questions," he shared. "I find that heartwarming and encouraging, and I get that in just about every school I go to."
A New Generation Takes Up the Mantle
The theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, "bridging generations," highlights the crucial role younger people play in preserving Holocaust memories. This resonates powerfully with the Sved family, as Paul's son Richard has recently begun working with the Holocaust Educational Trust to ensure his father's experiences are never forgotten.
"It is a relatively recent experience to talk with Richard, but it is encouraging for me to have him along," Mr Sved said with evident emotion. "It is so comforting for me to think that Richard will be there to continue this."
A Son's Sense of Duty and Pride
For Richard Sved, discussing the Holocaust proved difficult for many years, particularly given awareness of his father's traumatic childhood. This changed over the last decade as his father became more open about sharing his experiences.
"I feel immense pride that he's doing that and I'm aware that he won't be able to do it forever, and that somebody else needs to tell the story," Richard explained. "The other feeling of pride stems from his mother, my grandmother, and how proud I am of her and what she did, because neither he, nor I, nor my brother and my sister would be here without what she did."
He added with conviction: "I do feel it's a sense of duty for me. It's become a stronger feeling as I've got older, I'm now in my 50s, and, increasingly, it's become an actual, visceral feeling that the pain of what happened has gone to the next generation. I feel it in my bones, just thinking about it, and I would like to do all I can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Preserving Memory Through Physical Remembrance
Richard recently visited the Auschwitz concentration camp site with a friend, an experience that brought the horrors of the Holocaust into stark, tangible reality. "I think it's really important that it's preserved, and that it helps the stories to continue to be told," he reflected.
He recalled the guide's poignant words: "The first and the last thing that the guide said to my friend and me was, 'thank you for coming, because the fact that you've come means that the stories will continue to be told'." This sentiment encapsulates the Sved family's commitment to ensuring that the lessons of history are never forgotten, bridging generations through shared testimony and educational dedication.
