USHMM | 2025 First Person Series: Emanuel “Manny” Mandel

When eight-year-old Emanuel “Manny” Mandel and his mother escaped German-occupied Budapest in summer 1944, their tense journey did not go as expected. Nazi and Hungarian authorities had begun deporting several thousand Jews per day to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. To save lives, leaders in the Jewish community negotiated with Nazi officials, initially hoping to suspend the deportations.

They eventually reached a deal to send nearly 1,700 Jewish refugees, including Manny and his mother, to a neutral territory. Little did they know the Nazis would divert their train to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Speaker
Emanuel “Manny” Mandel, Holocaust Survivor and Museum Volunteer

Moderator
Bill Benson, Journalist and Host, First Person: Conversations with Holocaust Survivors

Watch live at youtube.com/ushmm. You don’t need a YouTube account to view our program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum's YouTube page.

Marking 25 years, First Person is a monthly, hour-long discussion with a Holocaust survivor that is made possible through generous support from the Louis Franklin Smith Foundation.