Biography
Magda Chunovic Fried (February 14, 1929-November 4, 1985) was a Holocaust survivor. She was from Svalava, Czechoslovakia (present day Svalyava, Ukraine). In Auschwitz, the prisoner ID tattooed on her arm was A-5824, and she was put to work sorting the clothes of those who were killed. Sixty-five of her relatives were executed at Auschwitz. In 1945, when the Nazis began to destroy evidence at Auschwitz, she and many other prisoners were forced to march for days toward another camp. Only about 150 of 5,000 prisoners survived this march. When the Nazis lost the war, the guards simply gave up and walked away, leaving the prisoners to find their way to either the Americans or the Russians on either side.
In 1948, she married Sam Fried, another survivor of Auschwitz, and the couple moved to the United States in 1949 to create a new life together. At first, they lived in New York City. After three months, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where they stayed for the rest of their lives. They raised three children together, Jim, Susan, and Ed.
Circa 1978, following a Neo-Nazi march in Skokie, Illinois, Sam and Magda Fried began to publicly speak out about their experiences during the Holocaust. They spoke at schools and community organizations, held a dinner in honor of liberators, and founded the Society of Survivors.
Magda Fried died of lung cancer on November 4, 1985.
Sources:
Fried, Sam. "A-5854 Magda Chunovic Fried Feb 14, 1929 to Nov 4, 1985." UNO Libraries, Archives & Special Collections.
Kelly, Michael. "Holocaust survivor and businessman Sam Fried, who shared his story with thousands of students, dies." Omaha World-Herald. April 15, 2016.
"Who is Sam Fried?" Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy website. Viewed November 30, 2018. https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/holocaust-and-genocide-studies/fried-academy/bio.php
Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:
File
Identifier: MSS-0129_society
Scope and Contents
This is a two-volume set of information about the Society of Survivors, which was founded by Sam and Magda Fried in 1978 and legally incorporated on July 11, 1979. At first, the Society numbered about 60 members, all Holocaust survivors living in Omaha, Nebraska. Sam Fried was elected the first Chair of the organization. Within a year, the organization had grown to about 100 members from Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa. The organization spoke out against Holocaust deniers,...
Dates:
1967-2013
File — Box 2
Identifier: MSS-0129_society_1
Scope and Contents
The first volume covers the period from 1967 to 1979 (predominantly from 1978 to 1979) and contains articles, meeting minutes, news clippings, correspondence, memoranda, fact sheets, event programs, photographs, and other organizational records of the Society of Survivors. Most of the documents are original and a few are reproductions.Much of the documentation relates to the Holocaust Survivors/Liberators Dinner on April 7, 1979, to honor American Veterans who helped liberate the...
Dates:
1967-1979; Digitized: 11/27/2018
File — Box 2
Identifier: MSS-0129_society_2
Scope and Contents
The second volume covers the period from 1979 to 2013 and contains news clippings, correspondence, event programs, newsletters, meeting agendas, photographs, and other organizational records of the Society of Survivors. Some of the documents are original and some are reproductions.The first half of the volume relates to the Holocaust Survivors/Liberators Dinner on April 7, 1979, including copies of thank you notes sent to participants, lists of veterans who attended or were...
Dates:
Deaccession: 1979-2013; Digitized: 11/30/2018
File — Box 3
Identifier: MSS-0129_magda
Scope and Contents
This volume contains biographical information about Magda Chunovic Fried (February 14, 1929-November 4, 1985), including photographs, letters, a dinner menu, identity documents, passports, travel documents, citizenship documents, news articles, cards, and other documents. Most of the documents are original and a few are reproductions.This volume begins with a police document from Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1945, verifying her identity, then continues with passports documenting her...
Dates:
1929-1985; Digitized: 4/17/2018
File
Identifier: 2019-086
Scope and Contents
The collection also includes copies of six video recordings of Magda and Sam Fried sharing their experiences as survivors of the Holocaust. In "Rising City” Magda Fried shares her experiences as a survivor in a 30-minute video, which was probably a home movie. The recording "Magda and Sam Fried – Holocaust Survivors" is Magda and Sam Fried being interviewed by Cookie Hoberman for a television program in Omaha, Nebraska. These and other recordings appear to have been copied from DVDs and were...
Dates:
circa 1980-1985
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS-0129
Scope and Contents
These eleven volumes were compiled by Holocaust survivor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Sam Fried in 2013. Through thousands of pages of documents including letters, speeches, photographs, and other material, Fried shared the story of his life with his wife and fellow Holocaust survivor Magda Fried, and philanthropist and wife Frances Fried. The books as titled by Fried are: A-5053 Sam Fried Holocaust Survivor; A-5854 Magda Chunovic Fried, Feb 14, 1929 To Nov 4, 1985; A-5053 Sam Fried...
Dates:
1925-2013; Digitized: 2018
