Henry Kress and I have been friends for 29 years. We first met in 1986 when my wife Nobuko and I first arrived in Irvine from New York. This was before any of our kids were born. You might think there is nothing special about my friend so far, just a nice friendship between a couple fellows. However, there is more to the story. Allow me to share.
Henry Kress & Ray Martin
I see Henry these days at my regular workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays as we both attend the same health club, 24-Hour Fitness. If you saw Henry at the health club, you might think, “Now there goes a very friendly guy.” Let me tell you, he’s not just friendly, he’s the life of the club! Henry stops and talks with other grey-haired exercise enthusiasts, cracks jokes and laughs it up with the staff. Everybody knows him at the club. You can’t miss him, or if you did you might get a jab in the rib just to be sure you’re awake. The club would not be the same without Henry.
There’s still more to the story that you would probably never guess. You see, Henry, who was born in Poland 91 years ago, is a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII (as was his dear wife Mary, now deceased). Henry and his older sister were taken to Auschwitz when he was 16 years old. They spent five years in the death camp until Europe was liberated. By the time he had gained freedom, he was a mere 95 lbs.
Henry as a child.
My son, Mohan, and I sat with Henry for an hour and a half in complete amazement listening to his stories. He shared this great escape story with us. One night near the war’s end, during a “death march,” Henry and a friend ran away and hid in an out-house. Eventually they found their way to the Russian army who assigned him to be a secret service officer.
Henry also came very close to dying one time but was saved by a wave of a finger. He told us the story of getting off the train in the middle of the night to march into the camp. As they walked single file, the guards were dividing people into two groups – able-bodied type men and women to the right for the work camp. The others – older people, small children and infants – to the left where they met their demise. Henry says,
“The guard just looked at me and must have thought, ‘he can work,’, and he waved me to the right. That wave saved my life.”
After the war, Henry and Mary met one another, traveled to the United States separately and eventually married. After 53 years of marriage, Mary passed away from cancer, 12 years ago. Mary was a well know speaker about the Holocaust and invited guest to the Crystal Cathedral and Archdiocese of Orange County. Aside from being a gym bug, Henry loves to visit his children and grandchildren.
Henry & Mary Kress
You would think such a life experience, seeing so much suffering and pain would make a person bitter and resentful about life. In Henry’s case it is just the opposite. You would just never know that Henry went through such suffering or trials in his life. He doesn’t show those wounds, instead he loves to meet people, tell jokes to the older ladies on the stationary bikes, and he makes me smile on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s.
I wanted to share Henry’s story with you as there’s a lesson here for all of us, a lesson about gratitude, a lesson about loving life and all those around us. Thank you Henry!
Hi Ray! This is Henry Kress’s granddaughter, Caitlin Kress. I stumbled upon this because I google his name every once in a while to pull up his video testimonies to watch and share with others. I am SO glad I found this today, it put the biggest smile on my face and made me tear up. I’ve made it one of my life goals to share the stories of my grandparents, and I am proudly involved in organizations that allow me to do that. Taking in and sharing these difficult stories is an honor but also a burden, and to know there are other people who are interested in doing the same is a relief and a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! My grandpa is exactly how you described him, and as lucky as we are to have him around, he’s SO lucky to have his neighbors and 24 hr fitness friends in his life. Would you mind if I shared this with family and friends?
Hi Caitlin! This is Ray’s son, Elliott and I’m in charge of administering the site. I’m glad you stumbled upon this and thank you for the kind words. I remember back when I was a kid, we would always run into Henry at the pool and if I remember correctly he was playing tennis often. I’ve passed your note on to Ray and please feel free to share this with family and friends.