WWII vet, concentration camp survivor Harry Arlin-Arnstein receives more than 400 thank you cards

A Jewish concentration camp survivor and World War II veteran who lives in Roslyn received more than 400 cards written by schoolchildren from the former Czechoslovakia on Saturday, the culmination of an effort to make the survivor's story known in his home country.

Harry Arlin-Arnstein was born 99 years ago in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He survived Fascist Italy's Ferramonti concentration camp, joined the British military at 16 and fought in the siege of Dunkirk as a part of the Czechoslovak military.

Despite resembling a Hollywood script, Arlin-Arnstein's story is largely unknown in his native country. Czech historian Jiri Kluc sought to change that by, in part, contacting schoolteachers in his country who incorporated Arlin-Arnstein's tale into their curriculum.

On Saturday, Arlin-Arnstein received 424 letters of gratitude from students who took those classes. The students range in age from 10 to 15, and study in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In one letter, a student wrote that Arlin-Arnstein's story was a reminder that "freedom is not free."

Arlin-Arnstein called the avalanche of letters an "outpouring of love" that finally gave his story recognition after it flew under the radar for decades.

"When I was younger, nobody paid much attention to me," he said as he sat in front of tables covered with the letters. "I never expected anything of this nature. I'm really taken aback."

Arlin-Arnstein's story began when he and his family fled from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia to escape the Nazis. They were then captured and interned at Fascist Italy's Ferramonti concentration camp from 1941 until the camp was liberated in 1943 by the British.

The camp, according to Kluc, more closely resembled the Japanese internment camps in the United States than the death or forced labor camps in Eastern Europe.

After regaining his freedom at age 16, Arlin-Arnstein was an interpreter for the British military in Italy before becoming an armored vehicle driver in the Czechoslovak military. He took part in the siege of Dunkirk from October 1944 to May 1945.

Kluc said he came across Arlin-Arnstein when doing research and called his story "extremely unique."

"A [concentration] camp survivor, plus a veteran in World War II — you never have this. You either have a Jewish soldier or you have a … survivor in the camp," Kluc told Newsday. "You don't have that combination."

Arlin-Arnstein's story continued after World War II, when he fled communism in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the United States. He served in a photographic unit of the American military during the Korean War, when he was stationed in the United States.

"I lived under Hitler and I ran. And Mussolini put me in a pen as a prisoner. And then I ran again from [communism] and Stalin," Arlin-Arnstein said Saturday. "I wish I could go back to the old country again, but I'm not up to travel at this point."

Kluc said that, even though Arlin-Arnstein may not be able to travel back to his homeland, he hopes to keep the survivor's legacy alive in the Czech Republic. Kluc wrote a memoir for Arlin-Arnstein, based on his stories, and presented it to the veteran on Saturday.

Arlin-Arnstein also received official acknowledgment from the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic and from mayors of three Czech towns: Brno, Nymburk and Ostrava.

"We'll make sure your story is alive there," Kluc told Arlin-Arnstein on Saturday. "We'll keep your legacy alive forever."