Alfred Caro’s Testimony by: Sheri Stephens

This is a glimpse of the Holocaust through Alfred Caro’s eyes. Alfred grew up in Berlin Germany in a proud German home. His father fought in WWI for the Germans and came out an honored soldier. He raised his children honoring the German way of life. Alfred was one of six children. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a butcher.
Before the war life was normal, Alfred’s hopes and dreams were that of any young mans to find work, enjoy life and have a family. His friends were of all religious backgrounds and no one cared who believed in what.
After the German’s went into a depression, all things began to change. Families were suffering, fingers were being pointed at political parties, but it wasn’t until Adolf Hitler came into the picture that the entirety of Germany’s problems was placed on the Jews. In Alfred’s Caro’s case he was taken from his family and placed in a concentration camp. It was only by the saving grace of his mother bumping into a childhood friend (a Nazi) that eventually led to his release and saved his life. Once he was released by the Nazi’s Alfred was eventually sent to Bogotá, Columbia to a Jewish refuge. There Alfred was able to own his own business and live a somewhat normal life again. He was even able to get contact with his younger sister who was sent to Bolivia to escape the war. Eventually they were reunited and moved to America in the late 1940’s where they both had families and lived out the remainder of their lives. Neither Cicilia Alfred’s sister nor Alfred was ever able to reunite with the rest of their family.

Quotes: I will never forget and I will never forgive
I do not believe in the Red Cross, Alfred was expressing his anger after being let down by the lack of urgency in helping he and his sister Cicilia get information on the rest of their family.