21 April 2020 is Holocaust Remembrance Day. This blogger wishes to honor a holocaust survivor who is still alive and living in the USA.

That person is Robert Max Widerman, born 01 March 1926.

Widerman was a teenager when he was placed on Transport 37 to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Tablet Magazine cites Widerman’s description of that train ride:

“The moaning and crying never stopped. More than anything I remember the unbearable stench. The [waste] buckets had no lids. They filled up very quickly and there was no way to get rid of the defecation.”

Before reaching its destination, the train stopped at the Cosel railway station, at which time Widerman was selected for the Blechhammer labor camp.

“The camp was populated primarily by Jews from Upper Silesia, however, among the 5,500 prisoners were people from 15 different countries. They were housed in wooden barracks under appalling conditions, with no toilet or washing facilities. Some 200 female Jewish prisoners were put into a separate section of the camp. Hunger and disease were rife, especially diarrhea and tuberculosis.” – Jewish Virtual Library

On 21 January 1945, Widerman became one of the hundreds of prisoners forced on a death march to the the Gross-Rosen labor camp. States Widerman, “The great terror was knowing that, despite your exhaustion, you had to stay on your feet and keep walking. If you sat down to rest or were too weak to go on, you were shot. On the march, we heard constant rifle and pistol shots.”

“On February 2, the survivors reached the Gross-Rosen camp, where they remained for five days before being put on a train to Buchenwald.” – Jewish Virtual Library

The Gross-Rosen camp was not prepared for the arriving prisoners.

States Widerman, “Oh, I have tasted hell on Earth and I know what it is. They did not know what to do with us. They shoved us into unfinished barracks — no windows, no doors, no bunks, no straw on the floor, just cold cement — and it’s freezing and muddy outside.”

Widerman was registered at Buchenwald on 10 February 1945. “At Buchenwald, he sang with an accordionist every other Sunday to an audience of SS soldiers.”

Widerman credits his singing act as being the thing that helped him survive.

On 11 April 1945, the American Third Army liberated Buchenwald.

After the war, Widerman became a professional singer in Europe. Some of his recorded songs became hits in the USA.

Widerman moved to the USA in 1949, at which time he recorded songs for Capitol Records.

Widerman would go on to appear in Broadway musicals and Hollywood films.

Starting in 1965, Widerman transitioned into a television actor. He spent 20 years of his TV career acting in soap operas.

Widerman also spent 6 TV seasons acting in a sit-com.

Here is a photo of that sit-com’s cast members:

Widerman is the young man sitting in the lower-right corner of the photo.

This what Widerman looked like in 1953:

By the way, after WWII, Robert Widerman changed his last name to Clary.

Featured Image in Public Domain.

David Robertson

The “Wanted” posters say the following about David: “Wanted: A refugee from planet Melmac masquerading as a human. Loves cats. If seen, contact the Alien Task Force.”

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