GREAT FALLS — On Thursday evening, Great Falls College hosted speaker and Holocaust survivor, John Kunz. His two-hour presentation detailed his own life story, educated others about the genocide while also dispelling misinformation about the tragedy.
WATCH:
“It is very personal. And it's very emotional. But at the same time, I'm very, very pleased that I'm still able to share that story,” he said.
He was born in a Nazi concentration camp in Ramsentahl, Germany, in 1944. John, alongside his parents and four siblings, survived imprisonment.
After the liberation of the camps, Kunz and his family were stationed at a refugee camp in Amberg, Germany. John said it wasn't easy, but they had the necessities; food, water, clothing, and shelter.
During an interview with MTN News in 2022, Kunz said, "The earliest memories that I have are the refugee camp in Germany, where we spent four years, and the the friendship that we experienced from an American army soldier that came to visit us in our little room and in a refugee camp. And he's the one who taught me the words to the song, 'You Are My Sunshine.”
That ended up being the first words in English that John knew.
It wasn't until the sponsorship of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Fairfield that the family arrived in America. They lived in the basement at St. John’s annex.
One year later, they moved to Great Falls. John was just six years old at the time. The path to freedom came with some challenges, particularly for his mother.
"My mother struggled," John said. "She wasn't out in the workforce at all, she was just home. She struggled with the language. She never was very fluent in English, and I don't think she ever learned to read in English. She was still getting the Polish newspaper, printed in Chicago, every week to get the news."
His father, John Sr., worked in maintenance at Great Falls Central Catholic High School.
John himself graduated from Central Catholic in 1962. Shortly after, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon discharge as a Sergeant, he lived in New Jersey tending bar at his brother’s Polish tavern.
John also studied at Rutgers University. He returned to Great Falls in 1972 where he spent many years in auto sales and management before turning to real estate in 1995.
“It is a point of pride. And I say growing up in Great Falls is a point of pride. You know, it's a very special community,” he says.
Accompanying his speech on Thursday was an installation of 40 posters, recently rediscovered in the basement of the Times Square building in downtown Great Falls, each one detailing a fact about the Holocaust.
Great Falls College faculty said they’re honored to have Kunz speak at the facility.
“We've got to remember what happened in the past and those memories. They're going to help us as we move forward into the future,” says Professor of History Matthew Hill.
“This history is just really important for everybody to know, but especially the younger generations that are coming up in our schools, on our campus,” added Communication faculty, Amy Pearson.
John said that in certain aspects, he was fortunate to be born in the camps, because if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be living in the U.S.
"I'm very fortunate," John said. "That's part of my daily thought is how fortunate I am, and I don't ever take anything for granted."
From October 2022:
