>>> THERE IS NO WAY FOR ANY AMERICAN TO KNOW IF A PRODUCT IS SAFE IF IT IS ULTRA PROCESSED.
>> IT'S HARD TO FIND TWO PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE MORE ON HEALTH POLICY THAN ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AND FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER
DAVID KESSLER, BUT THEY HAVE FOUND COMMON GROUND OVER A COMMON CULPRIT. ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS.
HOW DOES THIS COMPARE WITH TOBACCO? >> IT'S AS LARGE IF NOT LARGER. >>> EVERYONE KEEPS CALLING YOU
THE BABYIES. [ LAUGHTER ] >> YES. >> AND YOU ARE 80.
>> YES. >> EVA CLARKE, HANA BERGER MORAN N AND MARK OLSKY ARE AMONG IF NOT THE YOUNGEST
SURVIVORS OF THE HOLOCAUST. >> A WOMAN PRESENTED HERDS BABY TO -- HER BABY TO HIM. >> THERE'S A BABY.
>> THIS ONE WE HAVE TO TRY TO SAVE. >>> I'M LESLEY STAHL. >> I'M SCOTT PELLEY.
>> I'M BILL WHITAKER. >> I'M SHARYN ALFONSI. >> I'M JON WERTHEIM. >> I'M CECILIA VEGA.
>> I'M ANDERSON COOPER, THOSE STORYIES AND IN OUR LAST- MINUTE, FILMMAKER TIM BURNS WITH A SURPRISE.
TONIGHT ON "60 MINUTES." >>> TODAY, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AMERICANS ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM FROM MAKE
AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN ACTIVISTS TO EVERYDAY SHOPPERS -- ARE VOICING CONCERN ABOUT THE HEALTH IMPACT OF ULTRAPROCESSED
FOODS THOSE BOXED AND WRAPPED IN PLASTIC, READY TO EAT ITEMS LINING GROCERY STORE SHELVES. LEADING THE CHARGE ARE TWO MEN
WHO DISAGREE ON PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY ROBERT F.
KENNEDY JR. AND DR. DAVID KESSLER, THE FORMER COMMISSIONER OF THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
THE TWO MEN HAVE FOUND COMMON GROUND OVER A COMMON CULPRIT - A 67-YEAR-OLD GOVERNMENT CLASSIFICATION FOR SUBSTANCES
IN OUR FOOD. IT'S CALLED GRAS, OR GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS SAFE. KENNEDY AND KESSLER SAY IT HAS
ALLOWED BIG FOOD COMPANIES TO USE INGREDIENTS WITHOUT A FULL GOVERNMENT SAFETY REVIEW AND FLOOD THE MARKET WITH
ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS THAT NOW MAKE UP 50 PERCENT OF OUR CALORIES AND 60 PERCENT OF OUR CHILDREN'S DIETS.
>> OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO SOMETHING THAT OUR BIOLOGY WAS NEVER INTENDED TO HANDLE.
ENERGY-DENSE, HIGHLY PALATABLE, RAPIDLY ABSORBABLE, ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS THAT HAVE ALTERED OUR METABOLISM AND HAVE
RESULTED IN THE GREATEST INCREASE IN CHRONIC DISEASE IN OUR HISTORY. TYPE 2 DIABETES, PRE-DIABETES,
HYPERTENSION, ABNORMAL LIPIDS, FATTY LIVER, HEART ATTACKS, STROKE, HEART FAILURE. >> FROM OUR FOOD
>> FROM OUR FOOD. >> DAVID KESSLER WAS COMMISSIONER OF THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DURING
THE 1990s WHEN HE HELPED EXPOSE HOW THE TOBACCO COMPANIES MANIPULATED NICOTINE LEVELS TO HOOK CONSUMERS.
>> I AM HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ACTUAL INSTANCES OF NICOTINE CONTROL AND MANIPULATION IN THE TOBACCO
INDUSTRY >> IF YOU'D RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND. >> HE WAS A DRIVING FORCE IN
BRINGING TOBACCO EXECUTIVES BEFORE CONGRESS AND TURNING PUBLIC ATTENTION TO THE INDUSTRY.
HE'S NOW AIMING TO DO THE SAME WITH THE FOOD INDUSTRY. IN TERMS OF A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE
WITH TOBACCO? >> IT'S AS LARGE, IF NOT LARGER. >> IT'S THAT SIGNIFICANT?
>> THE SCALE OF THIS -- THIS AFFECTS EVERYBODY. UNDERSTAND, NOT EVERYBODY SMOKED.
BUT LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CONSUME ULTRAPROCESSED FOOD. IT TOUCHES ALL OF US.
>> 70% OF AMERICANS ARE EITHER OBESE OR OVERWEIGHT, AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY GOT INDOLENT OR BECAUSE WE BECAME LAZY OR
BECAUSE WE SUDDENLY DEVELOPED GIANT APPETITES. IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE BEING GIVEN FOOD THAT IS LOW IN NUTRITION
AND HIGH IN CALORIES AND IT'S MAKING IT'S DESTROYING OUR HEALTH . I SEE IT WHEN I GO ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
>> WE MET WITH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. LAST MONTH AFTER HE ISSUED NEW DIETARY GUIDELINES
THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME ADVISE AGAINST HIGHLY PROCESSED FOODS. YOU HAVE SAID THAT THESE ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS ARE
POISONING US. I THINK MANY AMERICANS WOULD BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT. >> WE'RE SEEING IN OUR
POPULATION PEOPLE WHO ARE OBSCENELY OBESE AND AT THE SAME TIME MALNOURISHED. >> WHO WANTS TO START?
>> KENNEDY SAYS THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW THE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT WE'RE EATING - THANKS TO THE
GRAS EXEMPTION ENACTED BY CONGRESS IN 1958 THAT ALLOWS FOOD COMPANIES TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE SAFETY OF THEIR
INGREDIENTS WITH NO GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT IF THEY ARE GENERALLY RECOGNIZED BY EXPERTS AS SAFE. PENDING WHITE HOUSE APPROVAL,
HE INTENDS TO CLOSE THAT BACKDOOR. >> THAT LOOPHOLE WAS HIJACKED BY THE INDUSTRY, AND IT WAS
USED TO ADD THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF NEW INGREDIENTS INTO OUR FOOD SUPPLY. IN EUROPE, THERE'S ONLY 400
LEGAL INGREDIENTS. THIS AGENCY DOES NOT KNOW HOW MANY INGREDIENTS THERE ARE IN AMERICAN FOOD.
>> THEY DO NOT KNOW. >> THEY DO NOT KNOW. THE ESTIMATES ARE BETWEEN 4,000 AND 10,000.
WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE. >> HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS SAFE TO EAT? >> THERE IS -- NO WAY FOR ANY
AMERICAN TO KNOW IF A PRODUCT IS SAFE IF IT IS ULTRAPROCESSED. >> FOR HIS PART, DAVID KESSLER
IS PETITIONING KENNEDY TO GO FURTHER AND OUTRIGHT REVOKE THE GRAS STATUS FOR DOZENS OF PROCESSED REFINED CARBOHYDRATES
SWEETENERS AND STARCHES SUCH AS CORN SYRUP AND MALTODEXTRIN - UNLESS THE COMPANIES CAN PROVE THEY ARE SAFE AND NOT
FUELING OBESITY. >> THEY TOOK STARCH, RIGHT? THOSE CHEAP, EASY CALORIES. @AND THEY CONVERTED THOSE INTO
WHOLE PANOPLY OF INGREDIENTS, THAT IT WAS ABLE TO REASSEMBLE. AND THOSE PRODUCTS ARE SO RAPIDLY ABSORBED IN OUR SYSTEM
THAT IT CAUSED METABOLIC HAVOC. >> THEY TARGET THE BRAIN REWARD CIRCUITS THAT KEEP US COMING BACK FOR MORE.
THEY TRIGGER OVEREATING. THEY DEPRIVE US OF ANY SENSE OF FULLNESS. >> WHAT WE ALL CALL EMPTY
CALORIES. >> THOSE CALORIES ARE NOT JUST EMPTY. THEY'RE ENDING UP IN YOUR
LIVER, AND THAT FAT IN YOUR LIVER IS GONNA MIGRATE INTO OTHER ORGANS. AND IT'S THE CAUSE OF
CARDIOMETABOLIC DISEASE. >> KESSLER, A PEDIATRICIAN, FILED HIS PETITION WITH THE FDA AFTER ZEROING IN ON GRAS
INGREDIENTS LISTED IN PLAIN SIGHT ON THE BACKS OF PACKAGED FOODS. >> PICK UP ANY ONE OF THESE
PRODUCTS. YOU EVER LOOK AT THE -- THE INGREDIENT LABEL? >> A LOT OF 'EM ARE THINGS I
CAN'T EVEN PRONOUNCE. >> RIGHT. IS THAT FOOD? CORN SYRUP, CORN SOLIDS,
MALTODEXTRIN, DEXTROSE, XYLOSE, HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. AND THEN THESE INGREDIENTS WERE SUBJECTED TO INDUSTRIAL
PROCESSING SO THAT OUR SYSTEM CAN'T HANDLE IT. >> WE WILL ACT ON -- ON DAVID KESSLER'S PETITION.
AND THE QUESTIONS THAT HE'S ASKING ARE QUESTIONS THAT FDA SHOULD'VE BEEN ASKING A LONG, LONG TIME AGO .
>> KENNEDY TOLD US HE WILL USE GOLD STANDARD SCIENCE TO REVIEW GRAS INGREDIENTS. BUT HIS CREDIBILITY ON THAT
SCORE HAS BEEN WIDELY CALLED INTO QUESTION BECAUSE OF HIS HISTORY OF VACCINE SKEPTICISM AND HIS AGENCY'S REVISION OF
THE CHILDHOOD VACCINE SCHEDULE. ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL THAT YOUR STANCE ON VACCINES MIGHT MAKE PEOPLE RELUCTANT TO
SUPPORT YOU ON ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS? >> MY STANCE ON VACCINES IS THE SAME.
PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE GOOD SCIENCE AND THEY SHOULD HAVE CHOICE. >> SOME DOCTORS WORRY THAT -- THE NEW IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE
SOWS CONFUSION AND WILL LEAD SOME AMERICANS NOT TO VACCINATE THEIR CHILDREN. >> PEOPLE WHO WANNA GET THOSE
VACCINES CAN GET THEM AND THEY CAN GET THEM FULLY INSURED. >> THE SECRETARY AND I, YOU KNOW, WE DISAGREE ON A NUMBER
OF ISSUES, I MEAN, IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS. WHEN IT COMES TO VACCINES, I DISAGREE.
BUT IF HE'S WILLING TO TAKE ACTION ON THESE ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS, I WILL BE THE FIRST -- TO APPLAUD THAT.
>> IF YOU DON'T TRUST HIM ON VACCINES, WHY TRUST HIM WHEN IT COMES TO ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS? >> I DON'T THINK IT'S A
QUESTION OF TRUST, BILL. I MEAN, THIS COUNTRY IS ILL. I'M A DOC. I CARE ABOUT THE PUBLIC HEALTH
OF THIS COUNTRY AND IF WE CAN MAKE PROGRESS ON THAT, LET'S DO THAT. >> THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN HAS
BEEN PARTICULARLY ALARMING. >> IN DECEMBER, SAN FRANCISCO CITY ATTORNEY DAVID CHIU FILEED A LANDS MARK LAND -- LANDMARK
LAWSUIT AGAINST TEN MANUFACTURERS OF FOODS ALLEGEING LIKE THE TOBACCO COMPANYIES THEY KNOWINGLY EDGE
NEARED AND MARKETED ADDICTIVE DANGEROUS PRODUCTS WHILE HIDEING THE RISKS AND CAUSEING A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS THE
CONSUMER BRANDS' ASSOCIATION ONE OF THE LARGEST TRADE GROUPS REPRESENTING THE FOOD INDUSTRY, DECLINEED TO RESPOND TO US WANT
THE LAWSUIT. BUT IN A STATEMENT TO "60 MINUTES," SAID -- THERE'S NO AGREED UPON SCIENTIFIC
DEFINITION OF ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS AND COMPANYIES ADHERE TO THE RIGOROUS EVIDENCE BASEED SAFETY STANDARDS AND NUTRITION
POLICY ESTABLISHED BY THE FDA. TO DELIVER SAFE, AFFORDABLE, AND CONVENIENT PRODUCTS THAT CONSUMERS DEPEND ON EVERY DAY.
>> OH MAN. >> GRANDDADDY. >> YEAH. >> OREOS.
>> WE MET WITH FOOD AUTHOR MICHAEL POLLEN WHO FOR DECADES HAS BEEN WARM -- WARNING ABOUT INEXPENSIVE FACTORY PROCESSED
FOODS. >> GRANOLA BAR, ALL LOOK VERY HEALTHY. EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE VERY
DIFFERENT. WE HAVE A SNACK FOOD. A COUPLE OF SNACK FOODS. >> NATURE VALLEY?
>> I WOULD ARGUE BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS IN IT. THERE'S A LOT LOT LOT OF CHICAGO IN HERE.
>> THERE ISS THIS SOLD AS HEALTH FOOD. >> POLLEN COMMENDS KENNEDY FOR SHINEING A LIGHT ON ULTRAD
FOODS. HE TIES THEIR UBIQUITY TO LONG- STANDING FEDERAL FARM SUBSIDYIES.
>> WE SUBSIDIZE AS TAXPAYERS, THROUGH THE FARM BILL, THE LEAST HEALTHY CALORIES IN THE DIET.
MOST OF WHICH GOES TO PEOPLE FARMING CORN AND SOYBEANS. >> WHAT'S WRONG WITH CORN AND SOYBEANS?
>> WHEN YOU HEAR CORN AND SOY, YOU THINK FOOD. THIS IS NOT CORN ON THE COB. THIS IS COMMODITY CORN.
>> IT'S NOT THE SWEET CORN WE EAT IN THE SUMMER? >> NO, YOU CAN'T EAT IT IN FACT.
IT'S ALL STARCH. BIG COBS. YOU WOULD BREAK YOUR TEETH ON IT AND THEN SOY WHICH IS NOT IN
THE FORM WE GROW IT AS A COMMODITY, IS NOT EDAMAME, YOU CAN'T EAT IT. THESE ARE RAW INGREDIENTS FOR
PROCESSED FOODS. AND ANIMAL FEED. >> SO THE GOVERNMENT IS SUBSIDIZEING CROPS THAT ARE
MAKEING US UNHEALTHY. >> YES. SICK. YEAH.
IN ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS WE ARE SUPPORTING BOTH SIDES IN THE WAR ON TYPE 2 DIABETES. WE ARE -- WE'RE SUBSIDIZEING
THE HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP AND THEN WE'RE PAYING IF THE HEALTH CARE COSTS. MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.
>> IN A STATEMENT THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION THE LARGEST GENERAL FARM ORGANIZATION IN THE U.S., TOLD
US, A HEALTHY DIET RELYIES ON A VARIETY OF NUTRIENT DENSE FOODS AND A BALANCE OF HEALTHY FATS, CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEIN AND
FIBER. SOME OF WHICH CAN COME FROM SHELF STABLE FOODS. WHY ARE THERE NOT SUBSIDYIES TO
PRODUCE MORE OF THE HEALTHY FOODS? >> CHEAP FOODS IS THE GOAL OF ALL GOVERNMENTS.
IF YOU WERE TO REMOVE THESE CORN SUBSIDYIES, THERE'S CONCERN THAT THE PRICE OF CORN WOULD RAISE AND THAT WOULD BE A
PROBLEM FOR THE WHOLE FOOD INDUSTRY. WHICH OF COURSE IS A VERY POWERFUL LOBBY.
AND WOULD BE A PROBLEM FOR THE CONSUMER CONCEIVE CONCEIVABLY. >> WHEN YOU ARE TAKEING ON ULTRA PROCESS FOODS, YOU ARE
ALSO TAKEING ON POWERFUL INDUSTRYIES. BIG AG, BIG FOOD. WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE YOU WILL
PREVAIL? >> MY BELIEF THAT I WILL PREVAIL IS BECAUSE WE HAVE THE PRESIDENT BEHIND US.
>> BUT THE PRESIDENT HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE PRETTY MUCH AGAINST REGULATIONS. SO WHY WOULD HE SUPPORT
REGULATEING ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS? >> WELL, I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE GOING TO REGULATE ULTRA
PROCESSED FOODS. OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEY'RE GETTING TO HAVE AN
INFORMED PUBLIC. >> THERE ARE AMERICANS WHO LIVE IN SO-CALLED FOOD DESERTS WITH LITTLE ACCESS TO WHOLE FOODS.
AND THESE ARE FOODS THAT MANY OF THEM CAN'T AFFORD ANYWAY. SO HOW DO YOU SPEAK TO THAT AMERICAN?
>> WE ARE LASER FOCUSED ON MAKEING ALL OF THESE FOODS AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY AMERICAN.
>> THE CON CONSUMER BRANDS ASSOCIATION TOLD US THE GRASS PROCESS ALLOWS COMPANYIES TO INNOVATE AND FOOD COMPANYIES
ADHERE TO FDA SCIENCE AND RISK BASEED EVALUATION OF INGREDIENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THEY ARE IN THE MARKETPLACE.
DAVID KESSLER SAYS THAT'S NOT ENOUGH. >> WE CHANGE HOW THIS COUNTRY VIEWS TOBACCO.
WE NEED TO CHANGE HOW THIS COUNTRY VIEWS THESE ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS. >> WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE
CEOs OF BIG FOOD COMPANYIES COME BEFORE CONGRESS AND RAISE THEIR HAND AND BE QUESTIONED LIKE THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY WAS?
>> I'D LIKE THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
>>> MICHAEL POLLEN'S FOOD RULES TO LIVE BY. FLUSH IF YOU CAN'T PRONOUNCE THE INGREDIENTS, IT'S NOT FOOD.
>> AT 60MINUTESOVERTIME.COM.
>>> LAST SPRING MARKED THE 80th ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE AND THE LIBERATION OF THE LAST
REMAINING NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS. IT MIGHT FEEL, NEARLY A CENTURY LATER, AS THOUGH THERE ARE FEW
HOLOCAUST SURVIVAL STORIES LEFT TO TELL. BUT THEN WE FOUND THIS ONE. IT BEGINS WITH THREE YOUNG
WOMEN WHO WERE MARRIED AND NEWLY PREGNANT IN 1944 WHEN THEY WERE SENT TO THE NOTORIOUS DEATH CAMP AUSCHWITZ, THEN
ASSIGNED TO WORK AS SLAVE LABORERS IN GERMANY. WITH PREGNANCY AN OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH IN THE
CAMPS, THE STORY OF HOW THESE THREE WOMEN MANAGED TO DECEIVE THEIR NAZI CAPTORS AND GIVE BIRTH TO THREE TINY BABIES --
WHO ARE NOW 80 YEARS OLD -- INVOLVES NARROW MISSES, SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TWISTS OF FATE AND LUCK, UNIMAGINABLE
SUFFERING, AND MIRACLES. EVERYONE KEEPS CALLING YOU THE BABIES. >> YES.
[ LAUGHTER ] >> AND YOU'RE 80. >> YES. >> ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT --
>> OH YES. >> OH YEAH. >> ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE PROUD OF IT.
>> TOTALLY. >> EVA CLARKE, HANA BERGER- MORAN, AND MARK OLSKY ARE AMONG -- IF NOT THE -- YOUNGEST
SURVIVORS OF THE HOLOCAUST.. >> APRIL 12th. >> APRIL 20. >> APRIL 29th.
>> BORN IN APRIL 1945, JUST BEFORE GERMANY'S SURRENDER IN MAY. AT THE TIME, THEY WERE NAZI
PRISONERS, BUT THEIR STORY BEGINS LONG BEFORE THAT, WHEN EVA'S MOTHER ANKA, FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA; MARK'S MOTHER
RACHEL, FROM POLAND, AND HANA'S MOTHER PRISKA, ALSO FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA, WERE YOUNG JEWISH WOMEN IN A WORLD THAT
WAS ABOUT TO BE SHATTERED. >> MY DEAR LATE MOTHER GREW UP IN A SMALL TOWN. AND HER PARENTS WERE OWNERS OF
A LITTLE CAFI, LITTLE JEWISH CAFI. >> SHE HAD EIGHT SIBLINGS. >> MARK'S MOTHER WAS FROM A
TEXTILE MANUFACTURING TOWN; EVA'S FROM EAST OF PRAGUE. >> SHE WAS A CHAMPION SWIMMER, JUNIOR BACKSTROKE SWIMMING
CHAMPION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA. >> FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY? >> FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY, YEAH. >> WOW.
AND THEY EACH FELL IN LOVE WITH THEIR HUSBANDS AS EUROPE WAS DESCENDING INTO WAR. >> MY LATE FATHER WAS A
JOURNALIST. >> HOW DID THEY MEET? >> THEY MET, I BELIEVE, IN A NIGHTCLUB --
>> OH. [ LAUGHTER ] >> ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM. >> SHE AVOIDED GOING INTO
DETAILS. SHE TALKED ABOUT THINGS. >> MARK'S MOTHER NEVER TOLD HIM MUCH ABOUT HIS FATHER, BUT SHE
DID SPEAK OF HIM TO MARK'S SON, HER GRANDSON CHARLIE. >> SHE TOLD ME THAT I LOOKED LIKE HIM.
AND I SAID, "REALLY?" AND SHE SAID, "BUT THAT'S IT. HE WAS SO ELEGANT. [ LAUGHTER ] YOU'RE NOTHING
LIKE HIM." >> AND YOU'RE NOT. >> UM... [ LAUGHTER ]
>> BUT SOON AFTER THE NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE MOVED INTO THEIR FIRST APARTMENT IN WARSAW, GERMAN SOLDIERS CAME ONE
MORNING AND SEIZED IT. >> SHE WAS STILL IN HER NIGHTGOWN. SHE SAID SHE STILL HAD HER
TOOTHBRUSH. AND SHE WAS JUST SENT INTO THE STREETS. >> THEY TOOK MY GRANDPARENTS IN
1942, MY -- MY AUNT IN 1943. >> AS THE NAZIS OCCUPIED POLAND AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA, JEWS WERE ROUNDED UP IN GHETTOS AND SENT
TO CAMPS. MARK'S PARENTS SPENT MUCH OF THE WAR IN THE WARSAW AND LODZ GHETTOS.
EVA'S WERE SENT TO A CZECH CAMP CALLED TEREZIN, WHERE SHE WAS CONCEIVED, IN VIOLATION OF CAMP RULES.
>> TO BECOME PREGNANT IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP WAS CONSIDERED A CRIME BY THE NAZIS.
>> FOR A JEWISH PERSON TO GET PREGNANT WAS A CRIME? >> A CRIME, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE TRYING TO MURDER --
THEY WERE TRYING TO ANNIHILATE EVERY MEMBER OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. >> BY MID-TO-LATE 1944, THE
KILLINGS HAD ACCELERATED. REMAINING GHETTOS WERE LIQUIDATED, AND ALL THREE WOMEN, NEWLY PREGNANT, WERE
LOADED FROM DIFFERENT CITIES ONTO PACKED FREIGHT CARS HEADED FOR AUSCHWITZ. HANA'S MOTHER ALONGSIDE HER
HUSBAND. >> THEY WERE SITTING IN THE TRAIN ON THE FLOOR. AND MY MOTHER IS SAYING, "IF
IT'S A GIRL, IT'S GONNA BE HANA. IF IT'S A BOY, IT WILL BE MICHAEL."
>> THIS IS ON THE TRAIN TO AUSCHWITZ -- >> ON THE TRAIN TO AUSCHWITZ. >> DID THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
AUSCHWITZ? >> OH, THEY DID. THEY ALREADY KNEW THOSE WERE DEATH CAMPS.
>> THE ARRIVAL PLATFORM AT THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU CONCENTRATION CAMP WAS A PLACE OF UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY.
FAMILIES WERE RIPPED APART, WITH MOST, INCLUDING MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY, SENT STRAIGHT TO DEATH IN GAS
CHAMBERS THAT AT THEIR PEAK MURDERED 6,000 PEOPLE A DAY. THE LUCKY FEW SELECTED FOR WORK, INCLUDING THE THREE
WOMEN, WERE STRIPPED, SHAVEN, AND SENT TO OVERFLOWING BARRACKS. DID YOUR MOTHER EVER SEE YOUR
FATHER AGAIN? >> ONCE, ABOUT A WEEK AFTER SHE -- THEY -- GOT THERE. SHE SAW HIM ACROSS THE --
BARBED WIRE FENCE. AND MY DAD SAID TO HER, "BE CAREFUL AND THINK ONLY GOOD THOUGHTS."
"THINK ONLY GOOD THOUGHTS." HE JUST KEPT REPEATING THAT SENTENCE. >> AND THAT'S THE LAST TIME
THEY EVER SAW EACH OTHER? >> YEAH. I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN HIM. >> PRISONERS ENDURED FREQUENT
SELECTIONS, SOME BY NAZI DR. JOSEF MENGELE, KNOWN FOR HIS GRUESOME EXPERIMENTS ON CAMP INMATES.
>> WHEN MENGELE CAME BY -- >> SHE MET MENGELE? >> SHE DID. AND MENGELE IS LOOKING AT HER.
SHE'S STANDING IN THE -- IN THE LINE WITH OTHER WOMEN. >> YEAH. >> UNFORTUNATELY, NAKED.
AND HE LOOKS AT HER AND SAYS IN GERMAN, "GOOD LOOKING WOMAN. ARE YOU PREGNANT?" AND MY MOTHER SAYS, "NEIN, I'M
NOT." >> EACH OF THEM AT THAT MOMENT HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO CONFESS THAT THEY WERE OR TO
DENY IT, WHETHER THAT WOULD SAVE THEM AND THEIR UNBORN CHILD OR NOT. >> AUTHOR WENDY HOLDEN HAS
STUDIED AUSCHWITZ AND WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT THE THREE BABIES AND THEIR MOTHERS. >> EACH OF THEM SENSED THAT
THEY WERE IN THE PRESENCE OF GREAT DANGER, AND THEY EACH DENIED IT. >> ALL THREE WOMEN LIED TO
MENGELE, AND ALL THREE WOMEN GET SENT TO A SLAVE LABOR CAMP IN GERMANY. >> FREIBERG, SAXONY, YES.
>> DID THE THREE EVER MEET? >> NO, AND THEY NEVER KNEW ABOUT EACH OTHER. IT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT THEY
DIDN'T REVEAL THEIR PREGNANCIES. >> THEY WERE AMONG MORE THAN A THOUSAND WOMEN PRISONERS
WORKING 12-HOUR SHIFTS IN A MASSIVE CONVERTED PORCELAIN FACTORY, MANUFACTURING PARTS FOR GERMAN FIGHTER PLANES.
>> LIVING ON REALLY DIET OF WATER -- ERSATZ COFFEE IN THE MORNING, AND THIN SOUP, AND THEN MAYBE A TINY PIECE OF
BREAD EVERY DAY. >> HOW DID THEY HIDE THEIR PREGNANCY? >> THEY WERE GIVEN, EACH OF
THEM AT AUSCHWITZ, CLOTHING FROM THOSE WHO'D BEEN GASSED. AND THEY, EACH OF THEM FORTUNATELY ENDED UP WITH --
WITH BAGGY DRESSES. >> DURING THE SIX MONTHS SHE WAS THERE, SHE WAS BECOMING PROGRESSIVELY MORE AND MORE
STARVED AND MORE AND MORE OBVIOUSLY PREGNANT. BUT FORTUNATELY, NONE OF THE GERMANS REALIZED SHE WAS
PREGNANT, BECAUSE HAD THEY DONE SO, THEY MIGHT WELL HAVE SENT HER BACK TO AUSCHWITZ TO BE KILLED.
>> BUT BY THE EARLY SPRING OF 1945, THE ALLIES WERE ADVANCING, AUSCHWITZ HAD BEEN LIBERATED, AND PLANS WERE BEING
MADE TO GET RID OF THE SLAVE LABORERS. >> THE GERMANS DECIDED THEY HAD TO ERADICATE THE EVIDENCE, AND
THEY WERE GOING TO SEND THEM TO BE GASSED, AND JUST KILL THEM ALL. >> THEY KNEW THEY WERE LOSING,
THE GERMANS. THEY KNEW THAT THE AMERICANS OR THE RUSSIANS WERE GONNA COME IN.
>> YES. >> AND THEY DID NOT WANT THEM TO KNOW HOW BADLY THEY HAD TREATED THESE PEOPLE.
>> VERY MUCH SO, AND ALSO THERE WAS NO MORE WORK. THE -- ALL THE MATERIALS HAD DRIED UP.
THEY DIDN'T -- THEY WEREN'T REALLY EVEN FEEDING THEM ANYMORE. THAT'S WHEN HANA'S MOTHER WENT
INTO LABOR ON THE FACTORY FLOOR. >> ON A PLANK THAT WAS PUT ACROSS A TABLE.
AND THE GUARDS WATCHED. AND THEY TOOK BETS ON WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO BE A BOY OR A GIRL.
>> THE GUARDS WATCHED THE BABY BEING BORN? >> YES. >> MY MOM SAID IT WAS LIKE A
SHOW. AND I SAID, "MOM, WERE YOU EMBARRASSED?" "I DIDN'T HAVE CHANCE TO BE
EMBARRASSED. YOU WERE BEING BORN. THAT WAS ALL THAT MATTERED TO ME."
>> 36 HOURS LATER, THE SLAVE LABORERS AND NEWBORN HANA WERE LOADED ONTO THE SAME TRAIN.
>> THIS TIME IT WAS IN OPEN COAL WAGONS. SO OPEN TO THE SKIES, AND FILTHY.
>> THIS WAS THE DEATH TRAIN. >> IT WAS THE DEATH TRAIN. THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A CAMP WHERE THEY COULD KILL ALL THESE
WOMEN. >> SHE SAID IT WAS A NIGHTMARE OF A JOURNEY. 16 DAYS ON THE TRAIN.
>> NO FOOD AND HARDLY ANY WATER. >> SHE'S NINE MONTHS PREGNANT, EFFECTIVELY--
>> YES. AND AT ONE POINT, THE TRAIN WAS STOPPED, AND THE DOORS WERE OPENED, AND A FARMER WALKED BY,
AND HE SAW MY MOTHER. AND HE HAD SUCH A SHOCK. MY MOTHER DESCRIBED HERSELF AS LOOKING LIKE A SCARCELY- LIVING
PREGNANT SKELETON. AND THIS FARMER BROUGHT HER A GLASS OF MILK. SHE MAINTAINED THAT SAVED HER
LIFE. WHO KNOWS. >> MY GRANDMOTHER, IN THE MEANTIME, HAD GOTTEN SO ILL.
SHE WAS UNDER 70 POUNDS AND NINE MONTHS PREGNANT. AND THEY PUT HER IN THE SICK CAR.
>> DID PEOPLE DIE IN THIS CAR? >> YES. >> I MEAN, THEY LITERALLY THREW THEM OFF THE TRAIN.
>> YEAH. SHE WAS LYING DOWN, AND THERE WAS A WOMAN WITH A BAD LEG, AND THEY HAD -- SHE HAD TO PUT HER
LEG UP ON HER PREGNANT STOMACH, 'CAUSE THAT WAS THE HIGHEST PLACE IN THE TRAIN TO REST IT. >> SO SHE'S SURROUNDED BY DYING
PEOPLE, AND GIVES BIRTH WITH A WOMAN'S FOOT ON HER STOMACH. I MEAN, THIS IS -- BEYOND INHUMANITY.
>> YES. SOMEHOW SHE GAVE BIRTH. SHE DIDN'T THINK SHE WOULD. >> SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS GONNA
DIE. >> AND SHE FIGURED SHE WOULD'VE GIVEN BIRTH TO A DEAD BABY; THAT HER BODY COULDN'T SUSTAIN
IT. BUT HE WAS ALIVE. AND SHE FIGURED, "BUT I WON'T HAVE MILK," BUT SHE DID.
>> SHE LEARNED THE DATE WAS APRIL 20th. >> SOMEBODY ANNOUNCED ON THE TRAIN, "AH, IT'S HITLER'S
BIRTHDAY TODAY." AND SO THAT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY. >> YOU WERE BORN ON HITLER'S BIRTHDAY?
>> YES. >> AFTER NINE MORE DAYS ON THAT TRAIN, THEY REACHED A CAMP IN AUSTRIA THAT WAS MEANT TO BE
THEIR END, MAUTHAUSEN, ONE OF THE LAST CAMPS STANDING. EVA'S MOTHER WENT INTO LABOR JUST AS THE TRAIN ARRIVED.
>> SHE HAD TO CLIMB OFF THE COAL TRUCK, UNAIDED. SHE HAD TO CLIMB ONTO A CART, BECAUSE THE PRISONERS WHO WERE
NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO WALK UP THE STEEP HILL TO THE CAMP, THEY HAD TO GET ON CARTS, AND THEY WERE PULLED UP BY OTHERS.
>> I THINK I WOULD GIVE UP. I'M -- I'M SURE I WOULD GIVE UP -- >> WELL, THAT'S WHAT I USED TO
SAY TO MY MOTHER, THAT I WOULD'VE GIVEN UP AT THE FIRST HURDLE. I WOULD'VE COLLAPSED.
SHE SAID, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA." SHE SAID, "YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CAN WITHSTAND UNTIL YOU HAVE TO."
AND SHE SAID, "AND FORTUNATELY, MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT TESTED." >> SHE WAS HAULED UP THROUGH THE WOODED VALLEY.
>> WHILE SHE'S IN LABOR? >> WHILE SHE'S IN LABOR. >> OH MY GOSH. >> AND SHE REMEMBERS LOOKING
BACK, YOU LOOK DOWN ONTO THE RIVER DANUBE. IT WAS APRIL, SO THERE WERE BLOSSOMS AND BIRDS SINGING.
AND, SHE SAID SHE THOUGHT IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING SHE'D EVER SEEN. AND SHE ALSO THOUGHT IT WOULD
BE THE LAST THING SHE'D EVER SEE. >> BUT IT WASN'T THE LAST THING SHE'D SEE, FOR A STUNNING
REASON. THE LAST DAY THE GAS CHAMBERS AT MAUTHAUSEN WERE USED WAS THE DAY BEFORE.
>> ON THE 28th OF APRIL, 1945, THE NAZIS HAD RUN OUT OF GAS. >> SO WAIT, YOU ARRIVED ONE DAY AFTER THE GAS RAN OUT?
>> RAN OUT. SO HAD THE TRAIN ARRIVED ON THE 26th OR 27th, NONE OF US WOULD'VE SURVIVED.
>> EVERY LITTLE TINY FACTOR OF THIS STORY IS AMAZING. >> YES. WELL, I CALL THEM THE MIRACLE
BABIES, AND WITH VERY GOOD REASON. >> MIRACULOUS TOO, THAT THEY MANAGED TO SURVIVE AT
MAUTHAUSEN FOR ALMOST A WEEK -- BABY HANA WITH INFECTED SORES ALL OVER HER BODY -- UNTIL FINALLY HELP ARRIVED.
>> MY MOM, SHE SAW A LITTLE GREEN ARMY CAR AND MUSIC. "ROLL OUT THE BARRELS." "ROLL OUT THE BARRELS, DA-DA-DA-
DA-DA-DA." [ LAUGHTER ] AND SHE SAID, "THIS IS NOT GERMAN." >> SHE KNEW THE SONG?
>> OH, YEAH. AND SUDDENLY, YOUNG SOLDIER WITH A HELMET, RED CROSS ON IT, COMES WALKING BY, AND MY MOTHER
SAYS TO HIM IN ENGLISH, "I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU." >> THAT "SOMETHING" WAS HANA. >> HE SAID TO MY MOTHER IN
ENGLISH, "I'LL GET THE DOCTOR BECAUSE YOUR BABY NEEDS HELP." AND HE RAN AND BROUGHT THE DOCTOR.
THEY TOOK ME. >> WAIT, THEY TOOK YOU OFF AND LEFT HER WITHOUT YOU? >> YES.
>> AND SHE LET THEM DO THAT? >> YES. YES, SHE DID. SHE TRUSTED THEM.
>> WOW. >> AND THE NEXT DAY, A NURSE CAME, ME WRAPPED IN BANDAGES, AND MY MOTHER SAYS, "IS SHE
DEAD?" THE NURSE SAID NO, NO SHE'S NOT. SHE'S SLEEPING.
>> HANA'S MOTHER NEVER FORGOT THAT YOUNG AMERICAN MEDIC WHO SAVED HER BABY'S LIFE, AND IT TURNS OUT, THAT MEDIC NEVER
FORGOT HANA EITHER. >> HE ALWAYS MENTIONED, "I WONDER WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE BABY."
>> REALLY? >> YES.
>>> THE HEROISM OF AMERICAN FIGHTERS IN THE FIERCE BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II IS LEGENDARY. BUT FOR SOME OF THOSE YOUNG
SOLDIERS, AMONG THEIR MOST SEARING WARTIME MEMORIES WERE WHAT THEY WITNESSED AFTER THE SHOOTING STOPPED, WHEN THEY
ENTERED NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMPS AS LIBERATORS. ONE OF THOSE CAMPS WAS MAUTHAUSEN, A FORTRESS-LIKE
COMPOUND HIGH ON A HILL WEST OF VIENNA, WHERE MORE THAN 95,000 PRISONERS DIED -- AND WHERE THREE BABIES AND THEIR MOTHERS
ARRIVED ON APRIL 29th, 1945. SIX DAYS LATER, A SMALL UNIT OF TWO DOZEN SOLDIERS FROM THE 11th ARMORED DIVISION OF
GENERAL PATTON'S THIRD ARMY WAS CHECKING BRIDGES IN THE AREA WHEN THEY CAME UPON THE CAMP ALMOST BY ACCIDENT.
A WARNING -- THE IMAGES OF WHAT THEY FOUND ARE DISTURBING. ONE OF THE SOLDIERS THAT DAY WAS A 22-YEAR-OLD MEDIC FROM
ILLINOIS NAMED LEROY "PETE" PETERSOHN. THIS IS THE SCRAPBOOK THAT HE KEPT?
>> THIS IS ONE OF A COUPLE. >> PETE PETERSOHN WAS DRAFTED INTO THE ARMY IN 1942. >> MY DAD WAS A -- A HUMBLE
MAN. HE ALWAYS HAD A SMILE. >> BRIAN PETERSOHN IS PETE'S YOUNGEST SON.
>> ALRIGHT, HERE'S THE GASKET. >> HE AND HIS TWO SONS HAVE BEEN RE-BUILDING AN ARMY-STYLE JEEP THAT USED TO BE HIS DAD'S.
>> YOU KNOW, GRANDPA'S GONNA-- >> HE'S GONNA -- HE'LL BE SMILING ON US. >> PETERSOHN LIVED THROUGH A
JEEP EXPLOSION. >> THAT IS THE EXACT TIME. >> WHEN THE JEEP WAS BLOWN UP. >> THAT'S WHEN THE JEEP WAS
BLOWN UP. >> AND HE SURVIVED. AND FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, BEFORE HIS UNIT
LIBERATED MAUTHAUSEN. HE SUFFERED, YEARS LATER, FROM PTSD. DO YOU THINK IT WAS FROM THE
BATTLES? OR DO YOU THINK IT WAS FROM THE CAMPS? >> FROM THE CAMPS -- THE SMELLS
AND THE SOUNDS AND THE SIGHTS THAT -- THAT BOTHERED HIM. >> THIS OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY PHOTO OF AMERICANS LIBERATING
MAUTHAUSEN CAPTURES THE JOY OF PRISONERS FINALLY BEING FREED, BUT THE PHOTOS PETERSOHN KEPT IN HIS SCRAPBOOK SHOW A FAR
DARKER REALITY. HE TOOK THESE? >> YES. >> OH.
>> PILES OF EMACIATED CORPSES. OH, MY GOD. OH, MY GOD. AND IN THIS PHOTO, A MAN WHO
DIED RIGHT IN FRONT OF PETERSOHN'S EYES. AND LOOK AT THIS MAN. I MEAN, HOW ARE THEY--
>> JUST SKIN AND BONES. >> HOW -- YEAH. PETERSOHN'S JOB WAS TO TRIAGE WHICH INMATES COULD BE HELPED,
WHEN HE CAME UPON A SHOCKER OUTSIDE ONE OF THE BARRACKS. >> A WOMAN PRESENTED HER BABY TO HIM AND SHOWED HIM THAT SHE
WAS BADLY INFECTED. >> HE'S NOW JUST SEEN ALL THESE DEAD BODIES. AND THERE'S A BABY.
>> THIS ONE WE HAVE TO TRY TO SAVE. >> PETERSOHN TOLD BRIAN THAT HE AND THE UNIT DOCTOR USED
PENICILLIN -- BRAND NEW AT THE TIME -- TO TREAT THE BABY'S WOUNDS AND HELPED SEW HER UP. HE NEVER GOT THE INCIDENT OUT
OF HIS MIND. >> LITERALLY, EVERY TIME THAT WE LOOKED AT THIS BOOK, THAT WAS HIS FINAL THOUGHTS.
"I WONDER WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT BABY." [ LAUGHTER ] >> IN THE WEEKS AFTER
LIBERATION, THAT BABY, AND HER MOTHER, LIKE MANY FREED PRISONERS, TRAVELED BACK TO THEIR HOMETOWNS ACROSS EUROPE
IN HOPES OF FINDING LIVING FAMILY MEMBERS -- AND IN MARK'S, EVA'S, AND HANA'S MOTHERS' CASES, THEIR HUSBANDS.
SADLY, ALL THREE MEN HAD DIED. WHILE MARK'S AND EVA'S MOTHERS LATER REMARRIED, NONE OF THE WOMEN HAD OTHER CHILDREN..
SO MARK OLSKY, EVA CLARKE, AND HANA BERGER-MORAN GREW UP AS ONLY CHILDREN, LEARNING ABOUT THE WAR IN BITS AND PIECES FROM
THEIR MOTHERS. >> I WAS TOLD THAT I HAD BEEN -- THAT I WAS BORN ON A TRAIN. BUT NOT-- NO DETAILS.
AND SO I THOUGHT, "OH, HEY, COOL, I'M BORN-- I WAS BORN ON A TRAIN." >> BUT AS HE LEARNED THE TRUTH,
HE BECAME ENRAGED. >> WHEN I WAS 12, 13 PEOPLE ASKED ME, "WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE?"
AND I SAID, "I WANNA GO TO EUROPE AND JUST KILL AS MANY GERMANS AS I CAN." YES.
>> HE VIVDLY REMEMBERS HIS MOTHER'S RESPONSE. >> IN ALMOST THE EXACT WORDS, SHE SAID, "THEY TOOK SO MUCH
FROM US. IF THIS IS WHAT YOU BECOME LIKE, THEY WILL HAVE TAKEN YOUR SOUL."
>> OH, SHE SAID THAT TO YOU? WOW. WOW. HANA'S MOTHER RAISED HER IN
CZECHOSLOVAKIA, BUT AS AN ADULT, HANA MOVED TO ISRAEL, THEN TO THE UNITED STATES FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL.
HER MOTHER SENT HER OFF WITH A REQUEST. TRY TO TRACK DOWN THAT YOUNG AMERICAN MEDIC.
>> AND SHE SAYS, "PLEASE FIND HIM." >> FIND HIM? >> -"FIND HIM."
>> HOW WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO THAT? >> I DIDN'T KNOW HIS NAME. SHE DISCOVERED IT WAS THE 11th
ARMORED DIVISION THAT LIBERATED MAUTHAUSEN AND SENT THEM A LETTER. >> I WAS GETTING VARIOUS
MESSAGES. THIS NAME, THAT NAME. I GOT IN TOUCH WITH THEM. "OH NO, IT'S NOT ME."
AND FINALLY, I GET THE MESSAGE, "OH. YOU WANT TO TALK TO-- TO PETE PETERSOHN."
>> PETERSOHN WAS 81 AT THE TIME. BRIAN PETERSOHN: DAD MENTIONED THAT HE HAD HEARD FROM A WOMAN
-- THAT HE BELIEVES IS THE BABY THAT HE SAVED AT MAUTHAUSEN. >> OH MY GOD. THEY MET IN MAY 2005, 60 YEARS
AFTER THEIR FIRST MEETING. >> I WAS SO HAPPY TO FINALLY TOUCH HIM, SEE HIM. >> HE WAS ACTUALLY STARING AND
LOOKING AT HER. >> I SAVED THAT PERSON. >> THAT'S YOU, THAT'S YOU, THAT'S REALLY YOU.
AND I WAS ABLE TO THANK HIM FINALLY. [GIGGLE] TRULY THANK HIM BECAUSE HE
SAVED MY LIFE. HE DID. >> DO YOU THINK KNOWING THAT SHE SURVIVED HELPED WITH THE
P.T.S.D. IN ANY WAY? >> OH ABSOLUTELY. THAT LIFTED A BIG WEIGHT OFF OF
HIM. >> AND I ASKED HIM IF I CAN CALL HIM DADDY PETE. >> DADDY PETE?
>> I DIDN'T HAVE A FATHER, YOU KNOW? SO HE BECAME MY DADDY. >> HE ADOPTED YOU.
>> WELL, HE HAD NO CHOICE. >> YOU ADOPTED HIM, LET ME PUT IT THAT WAY. HANA SPENT A WEEK WITH HIM
DURING HIS FINAL ILLNESS. WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP NOW? >> SHE'S MY BIG SISTER. >> EXACTLY AND HE BETTER
LISTEN. FROM THE PAST, NOBODY SURVIVEED. SO I HAVE MY FAMILY.
I AM SO LUCKY. >> AND SHE WAS ABOUT TO GET EVEN LUCKIER. >> I HAD FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS
THE 11th ARMORED DIVISION THAT HAD LIBERATED MAUTHAUSEN. >> EVA, WHOSE MOTHER HAD RAISED HER IN THE U.K., REACHED OUT TO
THE LIBERATORS A FEW YEARS AFTER HANA HAD, SENDING A PICTURE OF HER MOTHER AND 3 GENERATIONS OF DESCENDANTS.
THE PHOTO APPEARED ON THE COVER OF THE DIVISION'S NEXT NEWSLETTER. >> I OPENED THIS MAGAZINE AND
I SAID TO MY MOTHER, "YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS." THERE WAS HANA'S STORY. >> ANOTHER BABY.
UP TO THAT POINT, MY MOTHER HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WE WERE THE ONLY ONES.
>> SO SHE HAD NO IDEA-- >> NO. >> THE TWO "BABIES" SPOKE AND MADE PLANS TO MEET JUST AFTER
THEIR 65th BIRTHDAYS, AT THE MAUTHAUSEN CAMP, NOW A PRESERVED MEMORIAL, WHERE THE ANNIVERSARY OF LIBERATION WOULD
BE CELEBRATED. AND THAT'S WHERE BABY NUMBER THREE COMES IN. THAT SAME SPRING, MARK'S SON
CHARLIE WAS STRUGGLING TO FIND A 65th BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR HIS DAD. >> HE'S VERY HARD TO SHOP FOR.
SO I THOUGHT, "MAYBE I'LL DO SOME RESEARCH. SEE IF I CAN FIND SOMEBODY WHO HAS A STORY.
IT MUSTA BEEN REALLY MIRACULOUS TO HAVE A BABY IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP." >> A GOOGLE SEARCH BROUGHT HIM
TO THE WEBSITE OF THE 11th ARMORED DIVISION, WHERE HE SAW EVA'S FAMILY PHOTO, AND STORY. >> AND I LOOKED AT THE STORY
AND IT WAS EVERYTHING I'D EVER HEARD FROM MY GRANDMOTHER. EVERYTHING MATCHED UP. IT WAS THE LABOR CAMP IN
FREIBERG, THAT THE MOTHER HID THE PREGNANCY, THAT THEY HAD RUN OUT OF GAS. THE DATES, EVERYTHING LINED UP.
AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. THE WEBSITE'S ADMINISTRATOR CONNECTED HIM TO EVA AND HANA WITHIN AN HOUR.
>> HANA WAS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND WROTE ME ACK IMMEDIATELY-- >> OH MY GOSH. >> AND SAID, "THIS IS
INCREDIBLE. WE'RE MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO WEEKS AT THE CAMP, SO IT'S TOO BAD YOU'RE JUST
FINDING US NOW." AND I THOUGHT, "TOO BAD NOTHING. THIS IS GREAT."
>> "WE'RE COMING." >> FIRST THING HE SAID-- FIRST THING OUT OF HIS MOUTH THAT I HEARD WAS-- "WOULD YOU LIKE TO
GO TO AUSTRIA WITH ME AROUND THE TIME OF YOUR BIRTHDAY?" MY MIND IS, "ONE OF MY KIDS WANTS TO SPEND A BUNCHA TIME
WITH ME? SURE. YEAH, WHY N-- I'M THERE." >> AND THAT'S HOW THE THREE
BABIES MET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MAY 2010. >> WE SPENT THE WHOLE OF THE SATURDAY IN ONE CAFI TALKING,
LAUGHING, AND CRYING, AND TALKING ABOUT OUR MOTHERS, AND COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THEIR THREE STORIES.
>> "DOES YOUR MOTHER DO THIS? DOES YOUR MOTHER DO THAT?" >> AND WE WERE ALL INCREDULOUS, ABSOLUTELY INCREDULOUS.
>> IT WAS LIKE WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER ALL THIS TIME, AND WE JUST HAD TO GET CAUGHT UP ON WHAT HAPPENED FOR THE LAST 65
YEARS. >> HELL OF A BIRTHDAY PRESENT. >> IT WAS THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT I EVER GOT.
>> THE NEXT YEAR I WAS LIKE, "I AM JUST GETTING YOU A GIFT CERTIFICATE." (LAUGHTER)
>> THAT YEAR, AT AGE 65, THEY MARCHED IN THE ANNUAL COMMEMORATION AT MAUTHAUSEN. [ APPLAUSE ]
THIS PAST YEAR, AT 80, THEY MARCHED AGAIN.. AT THE SPECIAL 80th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, WHERE THOUSANDS
CAME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO REMEMBER THE PRISONERS WHO WORKED AND DIED HERE, AND THEIR LIBERATORS.
>> Announcer: THEs DELEGATION. >> BRIAN PETERSOHN MADE THE TRIP TO HONOR HIS FATHER.. WHILE THE SON OF THE U.S.
SERGEANT WHO LED HIS SOLDIERS INTO THE CAMP PLAYED "TAPS." AND WHILE THE BABIES WERE FAR TOO YOUNG TO HAVE THEIR OWN
MEMORIES, THEY TOLD US, INSIDE ONE OF THE STILL-STANDING BARRACKS, THAT THEY COULDN'T HELP BUT SENSE THE PRESENCE OF
THEIR MOTHERS. WHAT ARE YOU FEELING IN THIS PLACE? DO YOU CARRY HER EMOTIONS WITH
YOU? >> ALL I AM THINKIN ABOUT IS, I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. BUT I LEFT. >> AT ALL THE 80th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIONS, LIKE THIS
CONCERT IN VIENNA, THE THREE BABIES WERE CELEBRATED GUESTS OF HONOR.. QUITE THE JOURNEY FROM HOW
THEIR LIVES BEGAN. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THIS RELATIONSHIP? >> IT'S ONE OF SIBLINGS.
>> THAT'S RIGHT. >> AND I'M VERY GLAD TO HAVE SIBLINGS. >> WE FOUND EACH OTHER.
WE-- WE SHOULDA BEEN TOGETHER FROM DAY ONE. >> YOU CERTAINLY, AND YOUR MOTHERS ABSOLUTELY, WERE MARKED
FOR DEATH. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ANNIHILATED. >> MY MOTHER OCCASIONALLY
WOULD SAY-- "AND IN THE END, WE WON." >> BECAUSE YOU ALL SURVIVED. >> AND WE HAVE FAMILYIES.
>> HOW MANY GRANDCHILDREN? >> I HAVE FOUR. >> I HAVE TWO. >> I HAVE FIVE GRANDCHILDREN.
>> AND THEIR MOTHERS LIVEED TO BE 96, 90 AND 84. THE LINES GO ON. >> LIFE GOES ON.
>> LORD BE PRAISEED.>> L'CHAIM. >> TO OUR LIFE, AND TO OUR
>>> THE LAST-MINUTE OF 60 MINUTES MINUTES -- "60 MINUTES" IS SPONSORED BY UNITEDHEALTHCARE.
COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON FOR YOUR WHOLE LIFE AHEAD. >> FILMMAKER KEN BURNS HAS GIVEN VIEWERS A NEW
UNDERSTANDING OF AMERICAN HISTORY WITH HIS DOCUMENTARIES INCLUDING "THE CIVIL WAR" AND "THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION".
TO MARK THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, WE ASKED BURNS, "WHAT WOULD SURPRISE THE
NATION'S FOUNDERS ABOUT AMERICA TODAY?" >> I THINK THE FOUNDERS WOULD BE VERY PLEASED THAT THEIR
REVOLUTION BECAME A MODEL FOR DEMOCRACIES AROUND THE WORLD. I THINK THEY WOULD ALSO BE SURPRISED PLEASANTLY SO
THAT WE ARE STILL HERE 250 YEARS LATER. THEY WERE HUGELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE STRAINS ON THE NEW
COUNTRY. IF THEY WERE TO MAGICALLY ARRIVE IN THIS MOMENT, I THINK THEY WOULD BE TROUBLED ABOUT
HOW STRESSED OUR SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES IS BUT EQUALLY IMPRESSED THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME
SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES. THEY WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED I THINK NOT BECAUSE OF HOW
DIVIDED WE ARE WE ALWAYS HAVE BEEN BUT HOW WE ARE INCREASINGLY STRUGGLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR SHARED VALUES.
MY HOPE FOR THE 250th ANNIVERSARY OF OUR FOUNDING IS THAT AMERICANS UNDERSTAND THAT DEMOCRACY AND SELF-GOVERNANCE
REQUIRES OUR CONSTANT ATTENTION. THE BEST WAY TO COMMEMORATE THE 250th IS TO STUDY OUR HISTORY,
IN ALL ITS COMPLEXITIES AND TO VOTE! >> I'M ANDERSON COOPER. WE'LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK WITH
ANOTHER EDITION OF "60 MINUTES." BUT COMING UP NEXT, A SPECIAL CBS NEWS "THINGS THAT MATTER"
TOWN HALL WITH MARYLAND GOVERNOR WES MOORE.