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Andre Mark

Andre Mark

Andre Mark

Andre Mark, Holocaust survivor and husband of the late Idella “Bobbie” Kauvar, has died. He was 90. Close friend Cantor Zachary Kutner and Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky officiated at the service. Interment followed at Golden Hill Cemetery, and Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.

“Andre will be forever remembered and loved by his devoted family and friends,” his family said. “His philosophy was simple and direct: ‘I think it is a good idea not to hate and to love everyone. Jews, Christians, Muslims, we are all children of G-d.’”

Mr. Mark was born in Cluj, Romania, to David and Irina Mark. His parents and all four of his siblings perished in the Holocaust.

His youth and ability to play soccer helped him survive Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he was forced to play soccer with other prisoners as Red Cross planes flew overhead and reported the camp’s “excellent conditions.”

One day Mr. Mark received word that he shouldn’t attend the game the following day because all the players had been selected for extermination. Similar events intervened throughout the Holocaust, saving him from certain death.

He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. He was 18 years old and weighed 65 pounds.

Once Mr. Mark regained his strength, he returned to Cluj, home to 32,000 Jews before the war. Only 2,000 survived. His family was not among them.

He immigrated to Denver, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Respecting his US naturalization status, the Army assigned Mr. Mark to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. He achieved the rank of Master Sergeant.

Mr. Mark became a real estate broker and employed several members of the community. Many regarded him as their mentor.

“Along with his wife, Andre always made time to participate in his children’s and grandchildren’s school events,” the family said. “There was nothing he would not do for his wife and children. And his friends and colleagues could always count on his professional and kind nature.”

A bowler with the B’nai B’rith Bowling League, he earned many trophies. He played the accordion. Blessed with a wonderful tenor voice, he sang with the male choir at BMH-BJ until his health deteriorated.

He was a 50th degree Mason in the Columbine Lodge, an avid Broncos fan, took daily morning walks and loved playing poker at the JCC.

Mr. Mark, who never lost his passion for soccer, was a forward on the award-winning Denver Maccabi Soccer Team.

Meeting Steven Spielberg and giving his Holocaust testimony to the Shoah Foundation changed his life, the family said. Knowing that his concentration camp experiences would be archived at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC instilled Mr. Mark with a profound sense of gratitude.

He publicly spoke about the Holocaust for the first time in 1982 at Temple Emanuel. In the ensuing years, he talked to hundreds of students, children, families and organizations.

A member of the Holocaust Awareness Institute speakers’ bureau, Mr. Mark continued sharing his positive message: Educate, choose love over hate, remember the Holocaust and reject injustice.

“He would teach that learning how to be a good person starts at home,” his family said, “and that we must find the good in each of us.”

Mr. Mark is survived by his four children Judith (Scott Pizer), Debra, Sanford and Saralyn; and grandchildren Alexa, Aaron and Allen.

Contributions may be made to the  Holocaust Awareness Institute, Attn. Gifts, PO Box 910585, Denver, CO; the Wild Animal Sanctuary, 2999 County Road 53, Keenesburg, CO 80643; or choice.

Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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