Daniel Cohen Single Handed

When you face mountains do you walk up to them or walk away? When you have been held captive not once but twice. Do you stop believing or continue to lead? From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with film maker and author Daniel Cohen In 1944, a thirteen-year-old Hungarian boy named Tibor Rubin was captured by the Nazis and sent to the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp. The teenager endured its horrors for more than a year. After surviving the Holocaust, he arrived penniless in America, barely speaking English. Tibor enlisted in the Army, and in 1950, he volunteered for service in the Korean War, instead of staying home as a non-US citizen. After acts of heroism that included single-handedly defending a hill against an onslaught of enemy soldiers, braving sniper fire to rescue a wounded comrade, and commandeering a machine gun after its crew was killed, he was captured. His actions and decision-making were enough to be recommended for the Medal of Honor. But the paperwork was never filed. As a POW in a prison in North Korea, Tibor called on his experience in Mauthausen to help fellow GIs survive two and half years of captivity. Tibor narrowly escaped death at the hands of his captors several times, and suffered a serious leg injury that could have killed him, but fortunately he was released during Operation Little Switch and returned to America in 1953. In 1954, Tibor “Teddy” Rubin finally became a US citizen and moved on with his life, marrying and raising a family in California. It was not until 2005—at age 76—that he was invited to the White House, where he received the Medal of Honor from President George W. Bush. It had taken over half a century for Tibor’s adopted homeland to recognize this Jewish immigrant for acts of valor that went “beyond the call of duty.” The former Hungarian refugee became the only survivor of the Holocaust to have earned America’s highest military distinction. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and extensive interviews, author Daniel M. Cohen presents the inspiring story of Tibor “Teddy” Rubin for the first time in its entirety and gives us a stirring portrait of a true hero. ABOUT THE AUTHOR DANIEL M. COHEN has worked as a filmmaker, journalist, and film critic for over thirty years. He has written and directed award-winning independent features and continues to work as a film critic. He lives in Santa Monica, California.