In a scene in the movie “Schindler’s List,” Oskar Schindler tries to convince sadistic Nazi camp commandant Amon Goeth not to shoot so many Jews, while a young boy washes Goeth’s horse in the background.
When Irwin Gotfried of Redwood City saw the movie in the theater, he jumped up and yelled, “That’s me!” Except that the boy in the movie was shot and killed, and somehow, Gotfried’s life was spared.
Gotfried, who survived the infamous death camp Auschwitz as a teenager, never resumed his education but went on to found the largest glass company of its kind in Northern California. He died May 23 while vacationing in Israel. He was 80. His funeral was held Thursday, June 1.
Gotfried was born Oct. 20, 1925 in Miechow, Poland. He was one of eight children, and his father drove the bus between Miechow and Krakow, the nearest major city.
When the war first began Gotfried was forced to work at the Krakow airport, until he wasn’t allowed to go home anymore. After living in the Miechow ghetto, he was deported to several concentration camps, including Buchenwald, and ultimately ended up in Auschwitz for at least two years.
Steven Gotfried of Davis said his father attributed his survival to nothing but sheer luck. Once, he attempted to escape when the Russians were rumored to be approaching. But when climbing the fence, he slipped and fell. Machine-gun fire broke out, and everyone who had successfully jumped the fence was killed. He was the only one from that group to survive.
On a final death march in 1945, he was liberated by the American army, in which he later served.
After his liberation, he returned home to learn that none of his immediate family members had survived. An uncle in the United States was searching for members of his family, and helped Gotfried come to Los Angeles. The uncle fixed up his nephew with someone in the glass business, who taught him the trade.
In 1951, Gotfried married Lorraine Padveen, and they had four sons. The family moved to the Bay Area in 1961, settling in Redwood City.
Here, Gotfried founded AGI Shower Door & Mirror Company, which eventually grew to include 300 employees. It is said that Gotfried never fired a single worker because once they were hired, he felt like they were his family.
Gotfried was active at Peninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City. Rabbi Marvin Goodman said that Gotfried’s wartime experience had not left him bitter.
“I sense that he also did not lose or leave his faith in Auschwitz,” said Goodman. “When he was in a Jewish context, he was in his element. Whether it was here at shul, where he would regularly come — spending time next to the ark after the service — or a [Jewish] concert, Judaism was his place to be who he wanted to be.”
Gotfried only began speaking publicly about his experiences once “Schindler’s List” came out, according to his son.
Before that, he had largely moved on and was wrapped up in his business. But the experience of being interviewed and videotaped by the Shoah Visual History Foundation reminded him that he had an important story to tell.
He had a deadpan style, his son said. When he was asked about his education, Gotfried would say, “Auschwitz was my high school,” and when he was asked how he survived two winters at Auschwitz, he would say, “I shivered.”
“He wasn’t an educated man, but he’d show people the numbers on his arm and talk about what he went through in a very engaging way,” said Steven Gotfried. “He taught us a lot about being strong and what it takes to persevere and how to be forgiving.”
Gotfried was predeceased by his wife Lorraine in 1979.
In addition to his wife, Genya, and son Steven, Gotfried is survived by sons Michael of Clayton, Russell of Montara and Craig of San Francisco, six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Donations can be made to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, Leavey Library, 650 W. 35th St., Suite 114, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2571 or the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, Member and Donor Services, P.O. Box 90988, Washington, DC 20090-0988.