The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presents “A Conversation with Anthony Acevedo” on Sunday, July 15 at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, CA. Kyra Schuster, Curator at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will lead a discussion with Anthony Acevedo regarding his unusual experience as a prisoner of war and remarkable donation to the Museum’s collection including his U.S. Army medic armband and wartime diary.
Mexican American World War II veteran Acevedo was a 20-year-old medic in the U.S. Army 70th Infantry Division and was among the thousands of Americans captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. While a prisoner of war in Berga, a subcamp of Buchenwald, he kept adiary of the soldiers’ experiences there that chronicled their constant hardships and deaths of some of his compatriots. The stories regarding hundreds of prisoners of war from this camp remain virtually untold.
Acevedo kept the diary hidden during his confinement. At the end of the war he signed a U.S. document prohibiting him from sharing his story with the world, and he did not speak about his wartime experiences for more than 60 years. In 2009, the Army, at the urging of Congress, recognized Acevedo and his fellow prisoners of war in a special ceremony.
Acevedo, 87, now lives in California and decided to donate his diary to theMuseum in October 2010, saying, “I speak for all my buddies who were there.”
“Anthony Acevedo’s diary provides a searing and intensely personal insight into a horrific period for many American soldiers captured by the Nazis,” said Michael J. Sarid, Western Regional Director at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “His compassion and dedication to tell the stories of these soldiers provides the world with a unique perspective on the Holocaust. Donating it to the Museum will ensure their stories of heroism and sacrifice will be preserved for future generations.”
During his visit to the Museum, Acevedo became the first Mexican American to register with the Museum’s Holocaust Survivor Registry. His diary is also the first to be written by an American captive and one of 150 diaries donated to the Museum.
The program is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Individuals interested must register by contacting Kim Rohde in the Museum’s Western Regional office at 310-556-3222 or email krohde@ushmm.org. Congregation Beth El is located at 8660 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037.
