On the recordJanuary 26, 1994
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, we have before us a reminder of that sordid period. For the story of Hugo Princz is a story of human tragedy. In 1942, Mr. Princz, his mother, his father, his sister, and his two younger brothers--all American citizens--were arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Maidanek concentration camp in Poland. It was not long before both his parents and sister were sent to be killed in the infamous Treblinka death camp. He later was transported to Auschwitz, where he was forced to watch his brothers starve to death. The story of Hugo Princz is a story of survival. He was not supposed to live. Hugo Princz was living evidence of Nazi atrocities, and so was sent to be exterminated at the Dachau slave labor facility. The story of Hugo Princz is a story of heroism. Just hours before his scheduled execution, U.S. Army soldiers intercepted his death train and saved Mr. Princz' life. The story of Hugo Princz, unfortunately, is a story of neglect--of shameful neglect. It seems that red tape has prevented the German Government from paying Mr. Princz his rightfully due reparations for which he applied in 1955.
