László Kuti was born as László Klein in Gönc, Hungary, on June 15, 1927. His family and he were soon persecuted by the Nazis and the collaborating Hungarian authorities as Hungarian Jews. In 1944 they deported his family to Auschwitz concentration camp where his mother Regina, kid sister Edit, kid brother Dénes, grandfather Henoch/Henrik Rinder, aunt Magda Rinder and her mother Sarolta Freireich as well as baby cousin Ferenc Protovin were murdered on arrival.
In early 1945, László Kuti was transported from Auschwitz concentration camp to Mittelbau concentration camp as part of one of the clearance transports. His father József Klein and his younger brother Miklós Klein were also deported to Nordhausen with him.
In the Mittelbau concentration camp, László Kuti was forced to perform hard labor in tunnel construction and for companies in the surrounding area. The work detachment to which he was assigned in early February 1945 was housed in the Boelcke barracks. The living conditions in the camp were catastrophic and the working conditions harsh. The Boelcke barracks soon served as a death camp for the Mittelbau concentration camp, where the sick and dying were sent. The prisoners were left there to their fate without any care from the guards. Looking back, László described his time in the camp in a memoir as the most terrible period of his life.
László Kuti’s brother Miklós and his father József were also interned in the Boelcke barracks. Miklós died there in front of his brother during the British bombing raid on Nordhausen in early April 1945, which also hit the Boelcke barracks. László Kuti and his father were also injured in the bombing and were exhausted from forced labor. Nevertheless, they survived and were among the few survivors of the Mittelbau concentration camp who were liberated by US troops in Nordhausen on April 11. However, the death of his brother, after they had lived through the horrors of Auschwitz and Mittelbau-Dora together and liberation was so close, left a deep wound in László that shaped his life.
In 2005, László Kuti returned to Nordhausen and attended the memorial service marking the 60th anniversary of liberation at the Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Memorial Site. On the grounds of the former Boelcke Barracks, he and his only son, Miklós Kuti, mourned his brother who had died there. László brought a brass plaque in memory of his brother, which is now displayed at the memorial site.
László passed away on February 6, 2025. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and friends.
