Saul's Story and Full Video Testimony
Saul Dreier was born in Kraków, Poland in 1925. Until the outbreak of World War II, he enjoyed a normal childhood. But in 1939, at just 14 years old, his life was shattered by the Nazi invasion. Two years later, in 1941, he and his family were forced into the ghetto.
Soon after, he was deported to the Płaszów labor camp and, about a year later, transferred to work at Oskar Schindler’s factory in Zabłocie, a subcamp of Płaszów. In July 1944, Saul was placed on a transport bound for Auschwitz — the same transport from which Schindler later rescued many of “his list.” Saul recalls the train waiting on the tracks for hours. When the doors finally opened, it was not Auschwitz, but Mauthausen. He spent several weeks there before being sent to Gusen, then to Linz, where he was forced to work as a welder at the Haubwergstate Factory. After the factory was bombed, he was reassigned to repair railroad cars.
He was eventually liberated by the American army.
After the war, Saul spent time in Italy before moving to the United States, where he built a new life, met his wife, and started a business. Music, which helped him survive the darkest times, remained his lifelong passion. Saul is the founder of the Holocaust Survivor Band and at 100 years old he continues to share his story through music and public speaking across the world, ensuring the memory lives on.
