John Freund came to us courtesy of the Azrieli Centre in January 2013.  John is from Czechoslovakia, where he was living a “golden life” with family and friends.  When the Germans invaded, that situation changed quickly.  John survived the Terezin camp with his family.  From there, John and his family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were held for a time in the family camp.  As the Soviets neared, John was sent to Flossenburg, where he was ultimately liberated by the Americans.

John was interviewed for this project by Sabrina Wasserman, Zach Freedman, Steph Erdman, Suzanne Eisentraut, Anna Wallace, Cassie Wasserman, Bennett Harris, and Patrick Helou.  In April 2016, John came back to Crestwood, when he sat down to do a presentation for Mr. Hawkins’ class.