By then, Jewish survivors, who in 1945 had preferred not to call attention to themselves, decided to tell their stories.

The commission, with prominent officials, historians and Jewish survivors, was appointed as part of that effort.

This led him to meeting with many of the remaining Jewish survivors, and he recorded their experiences.

Some Jewish survivors revisit their childhood towns, where they are welcomed.

"This is our personal story - my late wife's and mine - told as Jewish survivors," he said recently.

Many Jewish survivors are now seeking compensation for these acts.

Interviews between government historians and Jewish survivors were not frequent before 2005.

Certainly, the Jewish survivors he works most closely with do not visit the sins of the fathers on this young man.

Earnest but frustrated government historians who have worked here for years had barely interviewed any Jewish survivors until now.

Ruth and her friends decided to flee upon learning that Jewish survivors of the camps were targets for murder.