|
 Eva and Les Aigner are active members of the Speakers Bureau and continue speaking by request. Eva is a current member of the OHRC Board. Les is Emeritus. Eva co-chaired the Oregon Holocaust Memorial Coalition, which was instrumental in creating an educational Memorial in Washington park.
“We kept silent about our experiences for many years, but we have decided that we need to share our history about our incarceration during the Holocaust, in order to teach what hate and discrimination can do to people’s lives.”
Les Aigner was a 15-year-old boy in 1944, and because of his religion he was taken from his home at the time in Budapest, Hungary to Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and on to several other camps. Les was liberated in Dachau, Germany, by the American forces.
After liberation he returned to his home and found out that most of his family was killed in the Holocaust.
Eva Aigner, as a seven year old child, because of her religion was taken from her home to the Ghetto, in Budapest Hungary. She survived the Budapest Ghetto, but many of her family members were killed during the Holocaust.
Les and Eva got married in Hungary in 1956, and escaped from Communism with the great desire to build a new family in a free country.
“For the last 20 years we have gone to schools, colleges, churches, synagogues and organizations to spread our message of tolerance and acceptance of one another regardless of race, color, nationality, or religion.”
|
