The Boys of Buchenwald

This title is an acquisition.

Robbie Waisman, Elie Wiesel and Joe Szwarcberg were three Jewish boys who knew the horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp. Their friendship began in 1945, soon after the American troops liberated the camp. As the trains left Germany, full of orphaned children, the boys began to create a fraternity based on need, banded together against a world they did not trust.

Their new life began at a children's home in France. Two of the former staff members recall the boys' struggle to adjust. They hoarded food, burned mattresses and fought, leaving many adults to regard them as damaged beyond repair. But slowly, the boys began to find good in people. Elie Wiesel, who went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize, explains: "We had to learn how to rediscover joy and affection."

Almost 60 years after their liberation from Buchenwald, the "boys" meet again, touring the homes in France and attending a reunion in Jerusalem. The bonds of friendship that helped them to rebuild lives after the Holocaust are still strong. A treasure of archival footage and photos, seamlessly blended with the present, tells a remarkable, personal story.