Steve Kuti is a survivor of the Shoah from Budapest, Hungary, one with a remarkable story to tell. He remembers growing up in relative privilege; his parents did well and were accepted in the larger community. But with changes in Hungary’s wartime government, restrictions came into play, and Steve remembers his family being pushed to the fringes of society. His father was taken away, and he and his mother were forced into the ghetto, barely avoiding the deportations that were at the time ongoing. Steve was himself put into forced labour, and he recalls working in and around Adolf Eichmann’s estate, and the remarkable coincidences that flowed from that brief encounter he had with the notorious Nazi leader. Steve was fortunate to survive the horrors and indignities that the war brought to Hungary, an experience that was repeated in the Soviet occupation. Steve was forced into the military and even communist education, so when the opportunity to escape came during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Steve took it, heading to Austria and then eventually to Canada.
Steve was referred to Crestwood via the Azrieli Foundation, and he was interviewed in his apartment by Scott Masters in April 2018.
