1. Holocaust Survivors Shep Zitler

2. Background Information  Born: May 27, 1917 in Vilnius, Lithuania.  Life During War: Soldier and Prisoner of War  Currently working as a salesman  Married and has one son  Was 1 of 10 men who survived in his labor camp  Held captive for 5 years and 7 months

3.  Was drafted into the Polish Army in 1939 (Beginning of World War 2)  Eventually became classified as a “Lithuanian Jew” rather than a Polish soldier.  His title of an officer was diminished due to the fact he was Jewish.  Was sent to a POW labor camp (Stalag 8 A)

4. Life during Captivity  Lucky enough to stay in a camp with humane conditions under the international law  Forced to work at the Autobon and loaded coal at Ludwigsdorf

5. Freedom at Last  Near the end of the war, Zitler marched 3 days without stopping.  Germans ordered the Jews to lie down in the middle of a field.  The Russian cavalry passed by and woke them up. They took the Jew’s watches, set them free, and rode away.  Became free on April 22 nd, 1945