Holocaust survivor shares somber story
Kristen Skopeck
LOS ANGELES — Employees of the Los Angeles District of the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers gathered April 9 to listen to Albert Rosa , a Jew and Holocaust survivor from Greece , recount his tragic story of survival and endurance for the purpose of Holocaust remembrance . Coincidently , the day marked the 73rd anniversary of Germany ’ s assault on Denmark and Norway .
“ I owe my life to the U . S . Army ,” Rosa said . “ If it wasn ’ t for the Army , I wouldn ’ t be here today .”
A spry , fiercely patriotic and proudof-his-heritage man in his late 80s , Rosa shared horrifying memories from six years of slavery and human indignity that began when he was 15 years old and resulted in the deaths of 70 of his family members .
He spoke of how , although young , his passion and training to be a professional boxer like his older brother probably helped save his life . It gave him the stamina to survive the day in 1939 when he was roughly awakened from sleep to witness his grandmother and mother being bludgeoned and then being separated from his siblings , herded onto a cramped truck , then a train , for a 10-day trek without food , water , or facilities , only to arrive at a concentration camp in Poland where the majority of youth under 16 were taken to the gas chambers and killed because they had no value as slave labor . He said he went on to endure years of hard labor , while continuously surrounded by death and the smell of burning bodies , and he only ate two-to-three days a month . Understandably , it was just too much for many of the other detainees who succumbed to the cold , malnutrition , beatings , illness , and degradation .
The camp was overseen by “ capos ” ( comrade police force ) made up of killers , rapists and criminals who were released from jails and given guns to control the Jews . Rosa said they had no compunction against brutality and , for fun , would sometimes bet each other to see how far away they could hit a target , and the targets were the laborers .
The Jews were dehumanized in every
Albert Rosa , a Jew and Holocaust survivor from Greece , visited the Los Angeles District April 9 to tell his tragic story of time spent in concentration camps during World War II . ( Photo by David A . Salazar )
way and , like all the rest , Rosa ’ s name was replaced by a tattooed number on his arm , which he ended up hiding or making excuses for later .
Rosa showed the District employees bumps and scars all over his body — a few were the result of an attack by a guard dog , one large one was from being stabbed in the stomach by a bayonet , and another was from a bullet grazing his knee . During several scuffles , he tried to “ give as good as he got ” by using his boxing training , but he always ended up outnumbered and incapacitated and has the disfiguration to prove it . He kept telling himself that he needed to survive , so he could avenge the deaths of his family and friends .
At one point , he was ordered to pull the gold teeth from a pile of bodies , and he surreptitiously stole and hid enough teeth so that he could eventually make himself a ring in the shape of the Star of David when the war ended .
When Germany was defeated in 1945 , Rosa was caught in the melee and chaos when Allied troops opened the gates of his camp . He joined a small band of men who ran from the camp into a forest , but two of the group froze to death while fleeing and two others died from gorging on food they stole from a farm . Rosa said that eating rich food after starving for so long made all of them sick .
He and three others eventually came across an Hispanic-American soldier who directed them to a military encampment where Holocaust survivors were being helped . There , Rosa scrounged for clothes and ended up with castoff uniform items . Ironically , at one point , he was mistaken for a regular soldier when he was willingly fighting alongside active-duty soldiers in an attempt to round up Nazis . He was even given an unofficial award for his bravery , when he was shot while trying to rescue an Army colonel who badly needed medical attention . He was also given the honorary rank of Master Sergeant .
After the war , Rosa spent time in the arms trade helping to equip people in Palestine , before applying to come to live in the United States . In 1948 , he arrived , via ship , in Louisiana and traveled to Denver . After determining Colorado was too cold , Rosa came to live in Santa Monica , Calif ., and he proceeded to open a delicatessen and liquor store . He considers himself to be a moderately rich man today .
“ When I heard I would be able to come tell my story to people in the Army Corps of Engineers , I was happy to do it ,” he said . “ I owe my life to the Army , and I ’ ve done well for myself through very hard work .”
Rosa said he is proud to be an honorary sheriff of Los Angeles County and an honorary member of their SWAT team . He also said he is still boxing today , but only with his grandchildren .
Partnerships bring recognition , success
Greg Fuderer
COSTA MESA , Calif . – The first three rules of real estate may well be “ Location , location , location ,” but when it comes to getting potential projects through the planning phase and into construction , one simple rule appears to evolve : Partnerships .
That fact became evident as several hundred watershed management professionals gathered here April 11 to discuss the benefits of consolidating efforts for maximum benefit in the present and anticipated times of fiscal limitations .
“ You only need to look as far as the title of the conference , ‘ The Power of Partnerships ,’” said Col . Mark Toy , commander of the Corps ’ Los Angeles District . “ I talked about how our budgets are really flat , and so you ’ ve got to look at innovative ways you can bring people together so you can create synergy . People in D . C . want to see sponsors representing a region , not just one project .”
The conference , hosted by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority , introduced speakers from federal , state and regional government agencies and from private industry who discussed the future of integrated watershed management and how its implementation increases the chances of getting projects approved and funded .
“ When you come together in a way where you ’ re all on the same sheet of music and you ’ re budgeting for a watershed series of projects , there ’ s strength in that ,” Toy said , “ because the value to nation is greater when it affects more than just one sponsor , more than just one city , more than just one stakeholder . It ’ s really just making the most of those partnerships that are out there .” Josephine Axt , chief of the District ’ s Planning Division , agreed .
“ You don ’ t just go to D . C . anymore and say ‘ I want this ,’” she said . “ Members of Congress are looking for people who say , ‘ We ’ re working with X , Y and Z in a collaborative fashion , and this is what the region needs , and this is how the region is working together .’”
That philosophy proved successful in two regards : the inclusion of $ 42 million in the president ’ s fiscal year 2014 proposed budget for construction along the Santa Ana River mainstem and the selection of the Santa Ana River watershed by Corps headquarters as a primary example of how collaboration among agencies can lead to project success .
“ I ’ m really happy that in the Corps , the Santa Ana River watershed has been identified as a model effort of collaboration ,” Toy said . “ That ’ s the reason it went forward as the study that ’ s going to represent USACE in the next iteration of what watershed-based budgeting is going to look like . They could have chosen anything , but they chose SAWPA because of the great collaboration that exists .”
According to Axt , one can expect that collaboration will continue not only along the Santa Ana River , but with similar projects throughout the Corps .
“ So in terms of the success of this conference , it was a great opportunity for Col . Toy to announce that the Santa Ana River watershed was selected as the model ,” Axt said . “ Headquarters said , ‘ We like what they did . We like how they did it . We ’ re holding them up as what people should try to replicate .’”
Following “ The Power of Partnerships ” conference , Col . Mark Toy , commander of the Corps ’ Los Angeles District , converses with ( l to r ) Phil Anthony , chair of SAWPA and a member of the Board of Directors of the Orange County Water District , Mike Marcus , general manger of the Orange County Water District , and Celeste Cantu , general manager for SAWPA . The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority sponsored the conference held April 11 in Costa Mesa , Calif . ( Photo by Greg Fuderer )
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