'I still see the smoke'; Man survived 'torture,' loss of family, gunshot to head during Holocaust

In a room designed to seat 250, children, college students and adults listened - some while sitting on the floor - as Holocaust survivor Murray Goldfinger asked them to imagine themselves being crammed into a box car for two days without food or access to a bathroom.

"That," he said, "is torture."

Sponsored by Campus Jewish Life and Hillel of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, the speech took place in the school's Elaine Langone Center Monday night. It was part of the university's annual observance of Kristallnacht, a planned attack on Jews that began the Holocaust in 1938. Known as "the night of broken glass," the attack killed 91 Jews and destroyed 267 synagogues and 7,500 businesses.

Before Goldfinger spoke, 11 candles were lit by university students to remember Jews and non-Jews who were put to death during the Holocaust. Each student spoke briefly about their reason for lighting a candle.

Born in a small village in Poland near the Slovakia border, Goldfinger said his first experience with the Nazi regime was in 1939, when Germans crossed the river dividing the countries. A young boy of 14, Goldfinger did not know what the presence of the soldiers meant.

"I went into my house and told my mother that I just saw military hardware and soldiers," said Goldfinger. "When I said this, my mother immediately started to cry."

Within a year, his family was forced to move from their home to what he described as "the ghetto," with nothing but what they could carry. Goldfinger became separated from his parents and he would never see them again. After the war, Goldfinger was told that his parents had been shot. Tragedy continued for Goldfinger's family when one of his brothers was imprisoned for ripping Polish currency. He was shot and killed the day he was supposed to be released from prison.

Living in "the ghetto" with his five sisters and three brothers, Goldfinger routinely risked being shot as he left his home to find food for his family.

"I was scared," said Goldfinger. "If I would have been found outside the city limits without a permit, I would have been shot."

By 1942, conditions worsened as the Nazi regime tightened their grip and began to kill all Jews. Goldfinger was loaded on a train and taken to Roznov - one of several camps where he would work in the next several years.

Only 200 of the 1,800 passengers on the train were allowed to stay at the work camp. Golfinger was one of them. The rest, including four of his sisters, were taken to the gas chambers.

"I still see the smoke," said Goldfinger. "I remember telling a man they (those who were killed) are better off than we are, because the torture is over (for them)."

Goldfinger says he convinced himself to survive. He proved his resilience by surviving a gunshot wound to the head. The Nazis attempted to execute Goldfinger for breaking a shovel at a work camp, but his life was spared when the bullet grazed his skull. The injury was later operated on here in the U.S.

Goldfinger survived another close call at the final camp he was transferred to - Buchenwald. On April 10, 1945, he was taken to be executed in the woods near the camp. American soldiers shot from planes at the Nazis carrying out the execution, and his life was spared. Goldfinger was liberated the next day.

Goldfinger moved to Switzerland and then to the U.S. in 1947, where he has lived ever since.

Goldfinger said it's important to speak of his experiences so the story of the Holocaust can be passed on to future generations.

"He is the only survivor of his family, and he is my hero," said granddaugther Emily Prentiss.

Prentiss, a senior anthropology and gender study major at Bucknell, said her grandfather is not just a hero because of what he went through, but also for what he has done with his life since the Holocaust.

"Regardless of his past, the man has no prejudice and is warm-hearted," said Prentiss. "He lives life to the fullest and always has a smile on his face."

Goldfinger stayed for several minutes after his speech. Many stayed to get autographs and ask questions.

Prentiss said she was pleased with the turnout and is proud of her grandfather.

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