Judah Samet - Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

(Abraham) Judah Samet (z”l)

February 5, 1938 – September 27, 2022

Birthplace: Debrecen, Hungary
Religious Identity: Jewish

“Only a change of underwear, they told us. We were given 15 minutes and we all assembled outside and soon they started to drive us to the railway, it took several hours to get there, and they were already rushing and shoving and pushing, the people who could not go fast enough were beaten with clubs”

Judah Samet was a young child during the Holocaust and World War II. He and his family were taken from their home during a mass roundup of Jews and herded like cattle onto a train headed for Auschwitz. Bombings from the Allied forces caused damage to many of the railways. Their train was rerouted to Bergen-Belsen, one of the most horrific concentration camps, as a result. Much to their surprise, Judah and his family managed to remain together in the camp. While there, Judah underwent surgery on his skull to treat an infection, which physically scarred him for life.

They were liberated from Bergen-Belsen in 1945, although Judah’s father died from Typhoid soon after the war ended. The family traveled to Israel and Judah later immigrated to the United States. After settling here, Judah made his career as a teacher for thirty five years and also worked as a jeweler. He and his late wife, Barbara, had one daughter and two grandsons.

“I was very impressed with my wife’s English. I had a very bad accent. She said, “I cannot hear you. Why won’t you come sit next to me?” So, then we decided to take a walk on the boardwalk, and within 3 1⁄2 months we were married.”

Judah passed away on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

-Biography adapted from from “In Celebration of Life: The Living Legacy Project” (2015)