The book Sándor never got to write

When Farkas Pungur was a small boy in Hungary, his mother would dress him and his brother in their best clothes, as if they were off to a celebrity party. Their destination was a modest studio apartment in Debrecen, lined floor to ceiling with books, and a man who greeted them with survival stories told in a soft, calm voice.

That man was Sándor Schwarcz, a Hungarian Jew who survived five concentration camps and a death march. Pungur’s mother had befriended him while queuing for special edition stamps outside the post office, and introduced her sons. The boys kept visiting for years, often bringing his favourite grape soft drink, Traubi-Szoda. His apartment window looked out on the train station from which he had been deported in the summer of 1944, and his front door, never locked, carried both his name and the number tattooed on his forearm at Auschwitz.

On top of his bookshelves sat volumes bound in black and red, the colours of the Nazi flag. Schwarcz had made 30 copies of his life story and gave them away, one by one, to the young people who came to listen.

Decades later, after emigrating to Australia in 2004, Pungur has finished the full biography Schwarcz never managed to publish. Auschwitz 5.0 – The Empire of Hell is the result.

“I wanted to ensure Sándor’s story would never be forgotten,” the Brisbane-based writer told The AJN.

Through conversations with friends, he realised how many families touched by World War II knew little about what their relatives had endured.

“Writing this book felt like a way to honour those who could never tell their own stories.”

That sense of duty was sharpened by an old wound. Years earlier, another writer had published part of Schwarcz’s Birkenau experience without crediting him. Schwarcz, who wanted respect rather than money, had been left disappointed by those who promised to share his account and never did.

“Although he spoke regularly at schools and universities, he never had the opportunity to write a complete biography,” Pungur said. “I felt a responsibility to tell his story fully and accurately.”

Doing so meant gathering a wide range of sources: Schwarcz’s notes, letters and typewritten memoirs, newspaper articles, and more than 10 hours of recorded interviews. Pungur cross-referenced dates, locations, names and events, filling gaps and verifying details wherever he could.

The idea had been on his mind for years, but it was the COVID lockdowns that finally gave him the chance to begin. With four children at home, he wrote whenever he could, often with music by Hungarian composer and pianist Balázs Havasi playing in the background, which “made my fingers move faster on the keyboard,” he said. The work was emotionally draining, but gave him fresh perspective on resilience and human relationships.

His aim, above all, is educational. He hopes younger generations will learn from Schwarcz’s experiences and better understand the realities of the Holocaust, whether through the book or a possible film weaving together several survivor stories.

“There are many remarkable stories that deserve greater recognition and preservation.”

What sets this story apart, for Pungur, is not only that Schwarcz survived, but how.

“Despite the darkness surrounding him, his story remains one of resilience, courage and the triumph of the human spirit,” he said. He also pointed to something simpler that carried Schwarcz through, and still helps people in hard times: staying mentally and physically strong, including through sport.

It is a message Schwarcz left behind in his own words.

“During our weakest moments we should never give up,” he wrote, “and we need to believe and hope in a better future.”

Auschwitz 5.0 – The Empire of Hell is available on Amazon.