• Home
  • About
  • GET THE BOOKS HERE
  • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
  • Looking for someone? Post here.
  • Memorial planned at Farsleben.
  • The Liberation Photos.
  • 1945 Manifest List-Names of those liberated at Farsleben, Germany, April 13th 1945
  • Notes on Attribution for students and others…

Teaching History Matters

"for the sake of humanity"… A small town American high school history project changes lives worldwide. These are the observations of a veteran teacher- on the Power of Teaching, the importance of the study of History, and especially the lessons we must learn, and teach, on the Holocaust. Click on "Holocaust Survivors, Liberators Reunited" tab above to begin.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Israeli archaeologist digs into Nazi death camp
“When you learn something, you learn it.” »

“It’s not for my sake, it’s for the sake of humanity, that they will remember…”

September 20, 2012 by Matthew Rozell

  I am re-posting this on the anniversary of a car crash that would claim the life of Holocaust survivor and later U.S. Army Ranger, Steve Barry.

My friend on the left described himself at one point in his life as the “Happiest Korean War Draftee”. Steve was a  survivor from Hungary who beat the odds and lived through the horrors of the Holocaust after the Germans invaded that country in 1944 and did their best to kill him on several occasions. He spent his 20th birthday jammed in a boxcar destined for Bergen Belsen, witnessed people dying of starvation and disease by the thousands,  and was liberated on April 13th, 1945 at the hands of the 743rd Tank Battalion and the 30th Infantry Division of the US 9th Army, aboard the train near Magdeburg.  He emigrated to the United States in Dec. 1948 after spending years in a displaced persons camp, applied for citizenship immediately, and was drafted in 1950, only to be assigned occupation duty in a far off nation- you guessed it-Germany. He was so happy to serve his adopted country…

Steve passed away yesterday, January 16th, 2012, after a long and difficult ordeal from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in September. I’ll always remember his special Christmas and Easter cards that he sent to me, made personally on his computer; his funny, self depreciating humor; and above all his overwhelming happiness at being able to finally meet the men who saved him. I hope that the memories sustain his wife Stella and his children and their families, and also the friends that he made later in life and became soulmates with- soldiers Carrol Walsh and Frank Towers, the soldiers who arrived on the scene to free him and help him begin his life anew.

Matthew Rozell, Stephen Barry, National DOR Ceremony, Washington, DC April 2010. This photo was taken the day after the 65th anniversary of Steve’s liberation in April 1945. We had just been honored by the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum before the national ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

I will leave you with a few of his words-and we will remember. Thanks, Steve, for all that you gave us, and for passing the torch to a new generation of students to carry your message forth.

An earlier post… The Holocaust Survivor and the US Army Ranger…

A fantastic national radio interview that I helped to arrange, knowing he would be the perfect speaker…

And the educational films I constructed from them.

 Stephen B. Barry, 87, of Boca Raton, Florida, passed away peacefully on January 16, 2012 following a serious car accident in late September 2011. A Holocaust survivor,who was proud to be an American, he went on to live the American dream. He is survived by his wife Stella of nearly 58 years, his children Barbara (Paul), Jamie (Jerry) and Randy and his beloved granddaughters, Amanda and Victoria and many extended family and friends. Services to be held at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Delray. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in his memory be made to The United States Holocaust Museum.
Published in Sun-Sentinel on January 18, 2012

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 30th Infantry Division, 743rd Tank Battalion, Bergen Belsen, Bergen Belsen Memorial, concentration camps, education, Farsleben, Hillersleben, history, history education, Holocaust, Holocaust survivor-liberator reunion, Holocaust Survivors, Liberators, narrative history, oral history, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, World War II, World War II Living History Project | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on January 20, 2012 at 4:00 pm Robert H Miller, son of 30th Inf. Herbert Miller

    God bless Steve and his family! I first met Steve at 30th Inf. Reunion. Several years back and then at Hudson Falls HS. He was such an inspiration and a excellent role model of succeeding with life – no matter what the odds. I will miss him, as well as the world his legacy will live on forever!


  2. on January 20, 2012 at 9:39 pm Elisabeth Seaman

    As one of Steve’s fellow survivors from “the train” I was delighted to meet him at the reunion of the 30th Infantry Division and at Hudson Falls H.S. and some of his family members as well. I’m sorry to know that he’s passed on and glad to know of the good life he created for himself and his family here in the U.S., just as I’m also having a good life here. All the best to the family and may you rejoice in many good memories of Steve. Elisabeth Seaman


  3. on June 4, 2012 at 6:22 am Don Numbley

    I cried when I saw the photos. What I saw was hope love and freedom. I will never process all of that horror. How could they have treated life that way. Never forget, never forget. Thank you for the history lesson.



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 531 other followers

  • Blog Stats

    • 412,452 hits
  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
      Why I Loathe 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'.
    • HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
      HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, LIBERATORS REUNITED
    • Is the Holocaust different from other genocides?
      Is the Holocaust different from other genocides?
    • And the cycle, the mystery, the life continues. Belzec.
      And the cycle, the mystery, the life continues. Belzec.
    • So, I am suspicious of education.
      So, I am suspicious of education.
  • Recent Posts

    • A damn good man.
    • “I said, ‘Did you even have to ask?’”
    • MTF Spotlight – Matt Rozell
  • Facebook Page

    Facebook Page
  • Twitter Updates

    • RT @HistoryInPics: A young Paul McCartney's mirror selfie. Possibly the first selfie taken by a celebrity. https://t.co/xilRIMmFjy 1 week ago
    • A damn good man. teachinghistorymatters.com/2018/03/27/a-d… https://t.co/iJJqGxEPIw 3 weeks ago
    Follow @marozell
  • Archives

    • March 2018 (1)
    • February 2018 (2)
    • January 2018 (1)
    • December 2017 (2)
    • November 2017 (2)
    • September 2017 (3)
    • August 2017 (3)
    • June 2017 (3)
    • May 2017 (1)
    • April 2017 (8)
    • February 2017 (3)
    • January 2017 (2)
    • December 2016 (2)
    • November 2016 (4)
    • September 2016 (3)
    • July 2016 (5)
    • June 2016 (3)
    • May 2016 (3)
    • April 2016 (3)
    • March 2016 (4)
    • February 2016 (3)
    • January 2016 (4)
    • December 2015 (7)
    • November 2015 (4)
    • October 2015 (3)
    • September 2015 (8)
    • August 2015 (6)
    • July 2015 (6)
    • June 2015 (2)
    • May 2015 (5)
    • April 2015 (13)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (2)
    • January 2015 (8)
    • December 2014 (2)
    • November 2014 (6)
    • October 2014 (2)
    • August 2014 (1)
    • July 2014 (20)
    • June 2014 (2)
    • May 2014 (3)
    • April 2014 (5)
    • March 2014 (3)
    • January 2014 (1)
    • November 2013 (7)
    • October 2013 (4)
    • September 2013 (4)
    • August 2013 (3)
    • July 2013 (6)
    • June 2013 (6)
    • May 2013 (7)
    • April 2013 (12)
    • March 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (7)
    • December 2012 (4)
    • November 2012 (7)
    • September 2012 (1)
    • August 2012 (2)
    • June 2012 (1)
    • May 2012 (3)
    • April 2012 (13)
    • March 2012 (3)
    • January 2012 (3)
    • December 2011 (1)
    • November 2011 (1)
    • October 2011 (2)
    • September 2011 (5)
    • August 2011 (4)
    • July 2011 (1)
    • June 2011 (2)
    • May 2011 (4)
    • April 2011 (3)
    • March 2011 (1)
    • February 2011 (3)
    • October 2010 (4)
    • September 2010 (1)
    • August 2010 (1)
    • July 2010 (2)
    • June 2010 (5)
    • May 2010 (3)
    • April 2010 (10)
    • March 2010 (3)
    • February 2010 (4)
    • January 2010 (2)
    • December 2009 (2)
    • September 2009 (2)
    • June 2009 (1)
    • May 2009 (2)
    • April 2009 (3)
    • February 2009 (1)
    • January 2009 (3)
    • December 2008 (5)
    • November 2008 (3)
    • August 2008 (4)
    • July 2008 (1)
    • May 2008 (4)
    • April 2008 (4)
    • January 2008 (3)
    • December 2007 (1)
    • November 2007 (2)
    • October 2007 (1)
    • September 2007 (4)

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: