Jack Bass, of blessed memory, lived in nearby Adamsville from 1994 until his death in 2010. During that time he was an avid speaker on behalf of the BHEC, traveling across the state with his dear wife, Phyllis, at his side. He was one of the nine original Holocaust survivors in Birmingham who participated in the AHEC’s Darkness into Life: Alabama Holocaust Survivors Through Photography and Art exhibit.
Jack’s story is unique in that he fully experienced the Third Reich’s progressive elimination of its Jewish population. He remained in Germany until the Großaktion Juden (Major Action on Jews) in February 1943, when over a week’s time, 8,000 Jewish men in Berlin were rounded up and sent to various camps.
Jack was imprisoned at Auschwitz III/ Buna, Auschwitz I, Dachau, and Mühldorf. And yet despite his terrifying youth and loss of family, he retained a wonderful sense of humor, love of music, and joie de vivre.
Join Ann Mollengarden, AHEC Education Coordinator, as we meet Jack and learn from his life experiences.
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