George Gador was born in Czechoslovakia in 1925. When the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia, it was split into two areas. The area near Hungary was where George and his family lived. When George grew up he learnt how to speak both Hungarian and Czechoslovakian. Later on, he was captured by Nazis and was taken to a labour camp in Ukraine, where he helped make bridges, foxholes and other things for the Germans and Hungarians. When the Nazis were pushing the labour camp prisoners onto the cattle trains George escaped with his friend to a house where a lady let them stay, but they had to hide under the floorboards because she said if the Germans found her hiding two Jewish boys she would be hanged. They hid in the floorboards for 6 weeks eating only bread and bacon. After the six weeks, he poked his head out and saw that there were Russians, which meant they had been liberated. After this George wanted to go to Budapest but couldn’t because it was still controlled by the Germans. So he waited and they went to Hungary and stayed there until 1949 when the communist invaded the country and George then escaped the communists and fled to Vienna. He left Vienna in the late 1950’s and immigrated to Canada.
Videos
- 1. Life in Czechoslovakia before the War
- 2. Anti-Semitism in Hungary; School
- 3. Sent to a Labour Camp
- 4. George's Escape
- 5. After the Escape; After the War
- 6. First Encounter with the Nazis; The Labour Camp Experience
- 7. Liberation
- 8. Postwar- Hungary to Vienna
- 9. Life in Canada
- 10. Leaving Communism Behind
- 11. An Old Friend; Faith
- 12. Family and Separation
- 13. Life after the War