About this episode
Stephen Kapos survived the Holocaust as a child in Nazi-occupied Hungary. In this candid interview, he recalls his time in a Jewish refugee home—hiding his identity with other children to avoid Nazi detection.He reflects on memory, survival, and the different paths his family took after the war, including his journey to London. Kapos also shares how visits to Israel opened his eyes to the country’s racism—both systemic and societal.We explore what justice looks like after atrocity, how Holocaust memory is politicised by Israel to justify war crimes, and what “Never Again” really means in today’s world. Kapos speaks about Palestine and why he continues to protest for justice. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq CarimChapters0:00 Opening and Introduction2:28 What Kapos Wants Audiences to Take Away6:27 Growing Up Jewish in Rural Hungary9:02 German Invasion and First Encounters with Soldiers15:02 Wearing the Yellow Star and Early Dehumanisation19:01 The Kasztner Train: Bargaining With the Nazis26:22 Bergen-Belsen: Hostages in a Camp of Death33:42 Life in Hiding: False Papers and Refugee Homes37:15 Budapest Under Siege: The Final Battle44:46 Memories of Escaping Bombed-Out Buildings48:20 Arrow Cross Atrocities and Hospital Massacres53:04 Liberation by Soviet Troops56:18 Returning Home: The Destruction of a Life1:02:01 A Missed Escape: Family Wiped Out in Auschwitz1:08:27 Sorting Her Parents’ Clothes at the Camps1:11:02 Family Reunited, Then Rebuilding Begins1:14:41 Postwar Public Health and Communist Party Life1:16:48 Anti-Semitism Returns in the 1956 Uprising1:21:04 Visiting Israel and Confronting Racism1:26:04 Leaving Hungary After 1956 and Settling in the UK1:30:32 Joining Labour, Momentum and Corbyn's Rise1:33:23 The Manufactured Antisemitism Crisis1:36:46 A Tense Confrontation with Keir Starmer1:42:00 Holocaust Survivors Against Gaza Genocide1:48:00 Israel’s Global Impunity and the Role of the Holocaust1:54:00 One-State Solution and Hopes for Justice
