Every day, Tom Lantos wonders why he, of all people, survived the Holocaust.
"My survival was strictly a matter of luck. I do not believe that (it) was on the basis of merit or of virtue, or I might not be here today," the 71-year-old U.S. congressman said during a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.Obviously, some of his California constituents would beg to differ. To them, the 10-term Democrat is a living testament to the resilience of the human spirit and someone who has devoted his career to fighting human rights abuses throughout the world.
But in his typically self-effacing fashion, Lantos downplays those accomplishments. "After having seen all I have, my choice was clear. If there is a reason why I am still here today, it is to help prevent something like that from happening again."
That sense of duty also explains why he is one of five Holocaust survivors interviewed in "The Last Days," a documentary film that examines Nazi Germany's efforts to exterminate European Jews in the waning days of World War II.
("The Last Days" opened Friday, exclusively at the Loews Cineplex Broadway Centre Cinemas.)
"Anyone who lived through the experience could be doing -- or more correctly, should be doing -- what I've done," Lantos said. "How could you keep silent on such a horror, on something of this magnitude?"
As a Jewish teenager living in Hungary during the war, Lantos was sent to work in a forced-labor camp. Upon his subsequent escape, he spent the rest of the war in one of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg's safe houses.
But because of his "Aryan" appearance (blond hair and blue eyes), Lantos could also impersonate a military cadet -- which allowed him to serve as a much-needed covert courier for the underground. Still, he feared for his life on a daily basis.
"Eventually, I realized I could be of use, delivering medicine and food," Lantos explained. "But the threat of discovery and the terrible consequences were always there in the back of my mind."
However, his experiences and those of other Hungarian Jews who survived the ordeal have remained perhaps the greatest (or saddest) stories never told. Enter filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.
The Shoah Foundation has taped interviews with more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors in a total of 57 countries and in 31 different languages. And though the interviews are available for viewing by visitors to the foundation's Web site www.vhf.org, the stories of Hungarian Jews were of particular interest to Spielberg.
"The extermination of thousands of Hungarian Jews was a major part of the Holocaust but one that hasn't been discussed as in-depth as it should be," Spielberg said in a separate interview. "Even though the war was clearly going against the them, Hitler and the Nazis continued killing Jews.
"In fact, they even stepped up their murderous efforts -- as if they were determined to finish their horrible task in what little time they had left."
Consequently, Spielberg and filmmaker James Moll approached Lantos and four others -- artist Alice Lok Cahana, teacher Renee Firestone, businessman Bill Basch and Irene Zisblatt, a grandmother -- and asked them to tell their stories on film.
The documentary features their tearful returns to the death camp sites, along with archival footage taken before, during and after the war. There are also interviews with others, including a former death camp doctor.
"It was very painful talking about my experiences," Lantos said. "But I've never shied away from a task just because it might be difficult -- not when something can be learned from it."
In fact, he believes the timing of the film couldn't be better.
"It's more crucial now than ever before to having some sort of living record to counterpoint all the Holocaust deniers. It's ridiculous to think that they believe it was all fiction."
Lantos is also concerned about human rights abuses going on throughout the world now that echo the Holocaust. "We were incredibly naive when we said that nothing like this would happen again. Look at what happened in Jasper, Texas. Look at what's going on, from Tibet to Kosovo to Libya. Things haven't changed, and evil still exists.
"You have to fight the forces of evil everyday. Each of us bears that responsibility. The worst thing we can do is to stand by and do nothing while it's happening."
Lantos said he is encouraged by the renewed interest in the Holocaust, as well as the fact that "The Last Days" has been nominated for an Academy Award (it's up for Best Documentary).
"I think it is terrific that (the movie) has been nominated," Lantos said. "It is helping bring attention to the film and the subject. The fact that it is prompting discussion is wonderful. (Spielberg and Moss) should be proud of their accomplishments."
Of all his personal accomplishments, Lantos said he is most proud of his family. He married Annette Tillemann, a childhood friend who also survived the Holocaust, and the couple has two daughters and 17 grandchildren.
"When I see my grandchildren, I realize that this is the best way to fight what was done to us," he said. "It's the ultimate answer to Hitler."