Andor Czitrom

Andor "Bandi" Czitrom was born in Budapest in 1921. He was a leather worker and had an older sister, Jolan, who survived, and an older brother, Jeno, who died performing forced labour circa 1944. Like many Hungarian men in the 1940s, as soon as he became of age Bandi was selected to do forced labour in the Hungarian Army. He spent 4 years in Ukraine deactivating bombs. He was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in July 1945 after he was deported alongside his comrades from the forced labour unit. From Auschwitz he was sent to Buchenwald. He spent several months in Buchenwald and various subcamps (Zeitz, Schwalbe V). He died circa February-April 1945, aged 23. He was a friend of Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertesz, whom he met in Zeitz (Buchenwald) when Imre was only fourteen. Being older, Bandi took Imre under his wing, and Imre has cited him as pivotal in his survival.