Irene Zisblatt ('The Last Days'); Dovid Mermelstein Z''L (from archive)

Interview with Irene Zisblatt, who was one of
the participants in the film The Last Days, released in 1998,
about the Holocaust in Hungary. The Yiddish Voice spoke to Irene
recently (late June 2021) via Zoom. Irene was born in Polena,
Czechoslovakia, which was in Hungary during WWII and is now in
Ukraine. Irene survived the Holocaust, including Auschwitz, as
she describes in the film and to some degree in the interview.
The film The Last Days, was originally released on DVD in 1998.
It was rereleased in 2021 in a restored print on Blu-Ray disk and
also through Netflix. Info:


The Last Days (1998) on Netflix

The Last Days (1998) Wikipedia page



From our archive: 2015 interview with Dovid
Mermelstein, who died the previous day (Tuesday, July 6,
2021). The Yiddish Voice spoke to Dovid in Miami, FL, in August
2015 and aired the interview shortly thereafter. Dovid was born
in Kivjazd, Czechoslovakia, which was in Hungary during WWII and
is now in Ukraine. He survived the Holocaust, including Auschwitz
and Ebensee. In recent decades, he was a leader of the survivors
in the Miami, FL, area and an internationally known activist on
behalf of survivors in order to get restitution from the US
government for property looted from Hungarian Jews during the
war, as well as serving as a vocal critic of the Claims
Conference on behalf of his fellow survivors. Info:


Times of Israel article: David Mermelstein, Holocaust
survivor and restitution champion, dies at 92

Miami Herald obituary (via Legacy.com): David Mermelstein
1928 - 2021

Forward article: David Mermelstein, Holocaust survivor who
fought Nazi-era insurance companies, dies at 92



Music:

Cookie Segelstein (violin), Pete Sokolow (piano): Hora
Serba (instrumental, excerpt)

Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an
instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing
Waltz





Air Date: June 7, 2021