More than 65 years after his escape, 81-year-old Holocaust survivor Irving Roth related his experiences during World War II. The presentation was part of Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts’ Fanfare and took place at the First United Methodist Church in Amite, La., on Oct. 12.

Roth spoke of his early life in Slovakia, then known as Czechoslovakia, and how the war affected him.

“My life was beautiful,” said Roth. “How could it not be? I had a family. I had grandparents!”

In 1938, Nazi Germany seized control of the Sudetenland, an area encompassing much of western Czechoslovakia. The rest of the country soon fell under German control, and what ensued was a gradual worsening state of affairs for Jewish residents. Roth’s nanny, a Christian woman, was forced to quit her job in the Jewish Roth household. Her loss was devastating to the young Roth.

“She was my friend, my confidant,” said Roth.

It was not long before the restrictions grew. Jewish persons were not allowed luxury items, and the government seized items such as jewelry and fur coats. Roth was forced to surrender his favorite coat in spite of the frigid Czechoslovakian winter.

Soon, the Star of David was a requirement for every Jewish citizen, Roth’s individual identity was lost, as he was forced to wear the yellow star with thousands of other Jewish citizens.

The attempted eradication of the Jewish culture followed through arrests, executions by gunfire and ultimately by relocation to death camps, as Nazis sought to deal with the larger populations of Jews deported from the ghettos.

In the summer of 1942, six death camps were operational. Even fleeing to Hungary could not save the young boy. In 1944, it was in the infamous concentration camp in Auschwitz that Roth found himself with his grandparents and younger bother, all of whom died during their imprisonment.

“Just as a farmer knows which cattle is his by branding, so am I,” said Roth, who received the number A10491.

The conditions were deplorable. On a good day, Roth recalled being overworked and underfed. The Auschwitz camp utilized a crematorium to dispose of prisoners.

“I see flames against a black sky,” said Roth, speaking of the towering smoke stacks of the crematorium.

Roth was among those prisoners in the forced death march to Buchenwald once the allied lines came too near Auschwitz for Nazi comfort. It was in Buchenwald that Roth spent the remainder of the war. On the morning of April 11, 1945, the Nazi guards abandoned the camp. At 3 p.m. that afternoon, American soldiers arrived.

“I have seen the messiah,” said Roth, recalling the first two American soldiers to enter the camp. “One was black, and one was white.”

The lecture ended with thundering applause. Many guests stayed for over an hour after the conclusion for a chance to meet Roth and to have their picture taken with him.

“When we see evil, as individuals we need to do something, not ‘Somebody ought to do something,'” said Roth. “No, I need to do something. I need to stick my neck out and be there because I see evil. I am responsible. I am my brother’s keeper… My brother is my keeper.”