Holocaust survivor Ivan Vamos spoke to Queensbury High School students for more than an hour on Tuesday, Feb. 11. And when the assembly ended, students surrounded the 86-year-old Vamos to hear more.
Vamos was born in March 1938 in Budapest, Hungary, to an established Jewish family. At the same time, Adolph Hitler’s troops marched to take over Austria. The Vamos family assumed that their long established status in the community would keep them safe — but that was not to be.
“The world was coming apart,” Vamos said, “and it was right next door.”
Several members of his mother’s family fled Europe. Ivan’s father, however, was conscripted into a slave labor battalion. Like most of these Jewish men, Ivan’s father died.
“After being rounded up to be boarded onto a boxcar, Ivan’s mother made a crucial decision,” said Chase Baker, one of two QHS seniors who moderated the event. “She grabbed his hand and ran.”
Surviving on scraps of food, Ivan and his mother evaded authorities by hiding in the smoldering ruins of the city for months.
Queensbury students in grades 10-12 listened intently as Vamos recounted his story. He took questions from the audience, and after the event ended, students gathered around him.
“Hearing personal stories of historical events allows students to connect with history beyond the classroom,” said social studies teacher Kerry Rodriguez, who helped organize the event. “As time passes, fewer Holocaust survivors remain to share their experiences. Hearing their stories now ensures that their stories are documented and passed onto future generations.”
Vamos and his mother eventually immigrated to the United States, where he attended New York public schools. Vamos became a U.S. citizen in 1953, said Grace Denious, who also moderated the event.
Vamos graduated as an engineering geologist and geophysicist from Columbia College, has an master’s in urban planning from Columbia University School of Architecture, and completed the course-work for a doctorate in public administration at SUNY Albany.
Vamos retired from NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, where he was the deputy commissioner for Planning and Development — responsible for land and water resource management, development, planning, engineering, construction, land acquisition, and environmental issues. He worked for parks, conservation, transportation agencies, the military and private firms for 52 years.
He and his wife of 53 years have three children and five grandchildren.