Hey there. My Grandfather, now in his late 80s or early 90s, is a survivor of Auschwitz. He is Dutch, but had served time in Auschwitz.
I wish to learn more about either the things he went through, or if possible (highly unlikely), more about him.
I would like to ask him personally, but he doesn't like to talk about his time during the war, and I know little bits of info from some of the things I have been told by my mother.
All I can really say is that he isn't Jewish, and was from a small Dutch village, and was apparently forced into working in Auschwitz after the Nazis took people from his village to work (so I have been told). He spoke, apparently, both Dutch and German, which I have been told helped him to escape. After escaping, he spent 3 weeks or so making his way home, before fleeing here to Australia.
How can I go about learning more about someone like him? Is my only way to learn more to ask him directly? Thanks, and I appreciate your feedback.
There are many first person accounts of people who survived Auschwitz. Night by Elie Wiezel is a short, haunting read, and is easy to find in libraries and bookstores. He was in Aushcwitz in 1944. There also is a collection of survivors who have recorded their stories. This will help provide some overarching background info. Same weblink, under Behind Every Name.
The Shoah Foundation has recorded thousands of hours of survivor testimony as well. Speilberg's documentary The Last Days is excellent.
Here is a database from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. It does have another database for other records, which may help provide some info. Do you speak another language besides English? I ask because their are other online search options that are in German or other languages.