Newly discovered videos have confirmed the so-called “Miracle at Farsleben,” in which U.S. troops rescued Jews headed toward their death in a Nazi death camp during World War II. Since the video has been posted to YouTube, several Holocaust survivors have come forward claiming to recognize themselves in the incredible footage.
‘I don’t want to say I am gratified or vindicated, because, even without this footage, this is an incredible story,” said Holocaust researcher Matthew Rozell, who found the video clips in the U.S. National Archives.
One third of prisoners on board the train were children (Photo: US National Archives)
The rescue took place April 13, 1945, as a Nazi train was carrying some 2,500 Jews away from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp — where Jewish refugee Anne Frank had just been killed — toward Theresienstadt, where they likely would have met their death.
According to reports from the time, the train was forced to stop near Farsleben because Allied troops were bombing the area. Generally, such an occurrence would have been deadly for the prisoners aboard the train, because Nazi soldiers were instructed to kill as many Jewish people as possible in the event the locomotive didn’t reach its final destination.
But this stop was different. At the same time the train halted, an American tank and Jeep with U.S. troops came over a nearby hill, and the Nazis ran. And as soon as American soldiers got to the train, they opened the doors, setting the Jewish captives free.
“In the clip, I saw my mother, my sister and myself,” 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Jacob Barzilai said. “I was very emotional seeing the footage. I was at a loss for words.”
Another survivor, 82-year-old Miriam Mueller, who was 4 years old at the time, was overwhelmed by the rare footage. Although she didn’t see herself in it, she said it brought up many memories and reminded her of what the Lord has brought her from and led her toward.
“Today, I have 26 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren, and there is another one on the way,” she said. “The blessed Lord has performed a miracle with me.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice