CHULA VISTA, California — Holocaust survivor Bela Mark died Sunday, Oct. 29. Born January 6, 1923, in Spermezeu, Romania, a region of Transylvania, Bela lost his father soon after World War l. His twin brother, Daniel, passed away Oct. 23, 2019.
Mark owned Mark Bros. Shoe Repair on 5th and Market in downtown San Diego. He operated the shoe repair shop for over 30 years. Daniel worked for a Tailor shop and eventually opened his own. Both worked hard in life so future generations could live a better life.
Romania ceded Northern Transylvania to Hungary in 1940. About this time Germany made allies out of Hungary and Romania, only to occupy the countries. The Marks worked “day until late evening, mainly digging trenches,” Bela once related. “Food and water were scarce, we would get a half loaf of bread every three days. If we were lucky we would find insects and snails to eat. Sometimes you would chew on the leather of your boots just to have something to chew. We would share what little water we had to drink.”
“The Russian soldiers were advancing towards Budapest and the Nazis were worried we would retaliate,” Mark once related. “We were picked up by the SS and ended up in a labor work camp (Buchenwald) that felt more like a death camp. The SS were brutal, food was hard to get. I remember having soup but sparingly, sometimes there would be potato peels in the soup which would be the best you could have.”
“The hardest times, people were dying all around you. If people didn’t die of starvation they died of disease.” He recalled being in a crowded barracks, with 3,4, or sometimes 5 people per bunk. By the next morning people next to you would be dead. “Death was all around you. At times I could not remember when I drank water or ate anything. Don’t know how long I was at Buchenwald, time stood still. It was Holocaust hell.”
“One day I noticed that the SS were leaving, I looked up and the towers were empty, and people started tearing down barriers. This is when I realized we were about to be free. Soon after the US Army rolled in and liberated Buchenwald.”
Covered in lice Bela remembers being stripped of his clothes and covered in white powder. He and his brother were sent to a hospital that used to be a grade school. They spent over a month in the hospital recovering from Typhus; everyone in prison had Typhus.
Bela Mark will be buried near his twin brother, Daniel, at Glen Abbey in Bonita. He is survived by his son, Bela Mark Jr. In place of flowers, donations can be made to the Butterfly Project so that the Holocaust is remembered among our youth.
On a personal note: Bela Mark was an incredible human. Bela gave us a gift and that was his story.
Bela was one of the reasons for creating the RUTH Remember The Holocaust exhibit. He was so supportive in sharing his past so that history does not repeat itself. Bela was such a positive person with infectious laughter and a smile that matched.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World