Where is God?

Where is God?
Auschwitz-Birkenau to Dachau
1942 -1945
by Sam Althaus

Permission to reproduce the entire book was granted by Sam Althaus

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2000 Samuel Althaus

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the author.
Cover illustration © 2000 B. Basnight

“Where is God?” by Sam Althaus chronicles his eye witness experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust. He asked that question while he was confined to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but he now understands that the atrocities were committed by evil people who were exercising their God-given free will to choose behavior.

We learn about his suffering. We also learn about the rare SS Officer who actually helped the prisoners. Each person’s attitude was crucial for survival. Mr. Althaus states that “The agony was just too much to handle. You couldn’t change the circumstances but you could change how you reacted to the circumstances”. In the words of Mr. Althaus, “It’s amazing that we managed to live”.

Not only did he survive, he also thrived. This writer has had the privilege of eating outstanding food at the Althaus Delicatessen. Mr. Althaus also won victory over the Nazis by getting married and having a family of his own. He was not exterminated; he did his part in assuring the continuation of the Jewish people.

Mark Nataupsky, Ph.D.
Founder and President, Holocaust Education Foundation, Inc.
and this Holocaust Teacher Resource Center

This book is dedicated to the memory of my parents, Herschel and Ita Altus, my brothers, Yussel, Srulek and Leibel, my sisters, Chaia and Feigel, my uncle, Leibel Altus, my other relatives and friends from Ciechanow, Poland, and the millions of other innocent victims who were murdered in cold blood in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

I am also dedicating this book to my brother Simon, cousin Irving, and the other prisoners who managed, by a combination of luck and cleverness, to survive those terrible years during which monstrous evil reigned supreme throughout much of Europe.

I offer my everlasting gratitude to the brave American soldiers who defeated Hitler and liberated from the camps those of us who survived the horrors of the Holocaust.

Since my liberation from Dachau in 1945, I intended to write of my experiences during the Holocaust but always found reasons not to do it. Perhaps, deep in my soul, I did not want to confront the demons of Auschwitz/Birkenau and Dachau.

It wasn’t until late in 1997 that a good friend, who had made several previous offers to help with the book, finally said, “Sam, if you’re really serious about writing your book, it’s time to get going. I will set aside a couple of mornings each week to interview you on tape and then transcribe the tapes on my computer. We’ll start on it tomorrow morning.”

I knew that he probably would not offer again, so the next morning I showed up at his office and started talking. This book is the result of those lengthy and sometimes very painful talks.

To my good friend, Andrew M. Casey, I say “thank you” for your patience, understanding and wholehearted support during this very emotional project.

I also express deep appreciation to my dear friend, Kathleen Anderson, for her excellent suggestions.

“HOLOCAUST”
The word invokes nightmares of physical and psychological terror, absolute despair, contemptible indignities, unimaginable atrocities, total degradation, innumerable physical beatings and cold-blooded murders committed against Jews and other peoples for no reason other than their birth or their beliefs.

As a survivor of the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz/Birkenau and Dachau, I need to share my memories and nightmares of those years with future generations.

It is my hope that our civilization will never forget how a diabolical plot to eliminate Jews from the face of the earth, the so-called “Final Solution,” almost succeeded.

This book is not intended to be a definitive study of the Holocaust. Rather, it is simply a narrative of my personal experiences and recollections before, during and after one of the most tragic periods in the history of the world and serves as a reminder to future generations that absolute evil, if unchecked, can rise again.