Episode 33 - The Holocaust survivor who leads pro-Palestine protests | Stephen Kapos | UNAPOLOGETIC

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 Carim

Chapters

0:00 Opening and Introduction
2:28 What Kapos Wants Audiences to Take Away
6:27 Growing Up Jewish in Rural Hungary
9:02 German Invasion and First Encounters with Soldiers
15:02 Wearing the Yellow Star and Early Dehumanisation
19:01 The Kasztner Train: Bargaining With the Nazis
26:22 Bergen-Belsen: Hostages in a Camp of Death
33:42 Life in Hiding: False Papers and Refugee Homes
37:15 Budapest Under Siege: The Final Battle
44:46 Memories of Escaping Bombed-Out Buildings
48:20 Arrow Cross Atrocities and Hospital Massacres
53:04 Liberation by Soviet Troops
56:18 Returning Home: The Destruction of a Life
1:02:01 A Missed Escape: Family Wiped Out in Auschwitz
1:08:27 Sorting Her Parents’ Clothes at the Camps
1:11:02 Family Reunited, Then Rebuilding Begins
1:14:41 Postwar Public Health and Communist Party Life
1:16:48 Anti-Semitism Returns in the 1956 Uprising
1:21:04 Visiting Israel and Confronting Racism
1:26:04 Leaving Hungary After 1956 and Settling in the UK
1:30:32 Joining Labour, Momentum and Corbyn's Rise
1:33:23 The Manufactured Antisemitism Crisis
1:36:46 A Tense Confrontation with Keir Starmer
1:42:00 Holocaust Survivors Against Gaza Genocide
1:48:00 Israel’s Global Impunity and the Role of the Holocaust
1:54:00 One-State Solution and Hopes for Justice

Chapters

• 0:00 False Papers and Refugee Homes
• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:28 What Kapos Wants Audiences to Take Away
• 6:27 Growing Up Jewish in Rural Hungary
• 9:02 German Invasion and First Encounters with Soldiers
• 15:02 Wearing the Yellow Star and Early Dehumanisation
• 19:01 Bargaining With the Nazis
• 26:22 Hostages in a Camp of Death
• 33:42 False Papers and Refugee Homes
• 37:15 Budapest Under Siege: The Final Battle
• 44:46 Memories of Escaping Bombed-Out Buildings
• 48:20 Arrow Cross Atrocities and Hospital Massacres
• 53:04 Liberation by Soviet Troops
• 56:18 Returning Home: The Destruction of a Life
• 1:02:01 Family killed in Auschwitz
• 1:08:27 Sorting Her Parents’ Clothes at the Camps
• 1:11:02 Family Reunited, Then Rebuilding Begins
• 1:14:41 Postwar Public Health and Communist Party Life
• 1:16:48 Anti-Semitism Returns in the 1956 Uprising
• 1:21:04 Visiting Israel and Confronting Racism
• 1:26:04 Leaving Hungary After 1956 and Settling in the UK
• 1:30:32 Joining Labour, Momentum and Corbyn's Rise
• 1:33:23 The Manufactured Antisemitism Crisis
• 1:36:46 A Tense Confrontation with Keir Starmer
• 1:42:00 Holocaust Survivors Against Gaza Genocide
• 1:48:00 Israel’s Global Impunity and the Role of the Holocaust
• 1:54:00 One-State Solution and Hopes for Justice