George Soros almost died in the Holocaust. Yeah, he fell out of a concentration camp guard tower. But seriously:

This is the relevant portion of the transcript (from the 20 December 1998 broadcast of 60 Minutes):

Quote:
KROFT: (Voiceover) To understand the complexities and contradictions in his personality, you have to go back to the very beginning: to Budapest, where George Soros was born 68 years ago to parents who were wealthy, well-educated and Jewish.

When the Nazis occupied Budapest in 1944, George Soros' father was a successful lawyer. He lived on an island in the Danube and liked to commute to work in a rowboat. But knowing there were problems ahead for the Jews, he decided to split his family up. He bought them forged papers and he bribed a government official to take 14-year-old George Soros in and swear that he was his Christian godson. But survival carried a heavy price tag. While hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews were being shipped off to the death camps, George Soros accompanied his phony godfather on his appointed rounds, confiscating property from the Jews.

(Vintage footage of Jews walking in line; man dragging little boy in line)

KROFT: (Voiceover) These are pictures from 1944 of what happened to George Soros' friends and neighbors.

(Vintage footage of women and men with bags over their shoulders walking; crowd by a train)

KROFT: (Voiceover) You're a Hungarian Jew...

Mr. SOROS: (Voiceover) Mm-hmm.

KROFT: (Voiceover) ...who escaped the Holocaust...

(Vintage footage of women walking by train)

Mr. SOROS: (Voiceover) Mm-hmm.

(Vintage footage of people getting on train)

KROFT: (Voiceover) ... by -- by posing as a Christian.

Mr. SOROS: (Voiceover) Right.

(Vintage footage of women helping each other get on train; train door closing with people in boxcar)

KROFT: (Voiceover) And you watched lots of people get shipped off to the death camps.

Mr. SOROS: Right. I was 14 years old. And I would say that that's when my character was made.

KROFT: In what way?

Mr. SOROS: That one should think ahead. One should understand and -- and anticipate events and when -- when one is threatened. It was a tremendous threat of evil. I mean, it was a -- a very personal experience of evil.

KROFT: My understanding is that you went out with this protector of yours who swore that you were his adopted godson.

Mr. SOROS: Yes. Yes.

KROFT: Went out, in fact, and helped in the confiscation of property from the Jews.

Mr. SOROS: Yes. That's right. Yes.

KROFT: I mean, that's -- that sounds like an experience that would send lots of people to the psychiatric couch for many, many years. Was it difficult?

Mr. SOROS: Not -- not at all. Not at all. Maybe as a child you don't -- you don't see the connection. But it was -- it created no -- no problem at all.

KROFT: No feeling of guilt?

Mr. SOROS: No.

KROFT: For example that, 'I'm Jewish and here I am, watching these people go. I could just as easily be there. I should be there.' None of that?

Mr. SOROS: Well, of course I c -- I could be on the other side or I could be the one from whom the thing is being taken away. But there was no sense that I shouldn't be there, because that was -- well, actually, in a funny way, it's just like in markets -- that if I weren't there -- of course, I wasn't doing it, but somebody else would -- would -- would be taking it away anyhow. And it was the -- whether I was there or not, I was only a spectator, the property was being taken away. So the -- I had no role in taking away that property. So I had no sense of guilt.

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=43876

A little prayer from the US, hope you get out.

If today is your Independence day UK I'm good with it, ours is next week.. lets party then ^_^

Try and get it as close to July 4th as you can.

Having all the stuff going on about the same time would be quite well.

I live in Wales and we get a hell of a lot of funding from the EU. This is some scary stuff.

Like you, I'm completely surprised how close this is. Nail biting!

I'm not sure what you are trying to say other than he had great survival instincts. In that context, very few people have any reasons to be moral superior. He was a child and in a dangerous situation.

BBC/ITV have now called it as a win for Leave.

I honestly don't know what happens next.

Sounds like "OUT" just won.

Close enough to July 4th I guess, heh.

well, looks like this is over.

bye, bye UK. *sadface*

next days/weeks surely will get interesting.

next up: Scottish referendum v2

Even when I was 14 years old, I'd never have betrayed my family, people, and ideals. Strict self-preservation is for cowards. Since I was a child, I've admired men such as these: http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Women-Children-First/

The brave only die once, cowards die a thousand deaths.

Congratulations to the British on deciding for independence.

Now we shall see if news of preparations for Dutch, Danish and French independence referendums are true.

I hope we get the same option soon.

Update: Apparently the majority of people in the UK are more suicidal than previously thought.

Oh well, mad props to Scotland for rejecting it entirely. Here is hoping that you can get out of this mess.

I did not expect that. I hope Scotland now manages to gain it's independence and is gonna be able to join the EU, and that Ireland will be reunited.

What weird times we live in...

Honestly, it's so hard to discuss a situation like that as miniscule details might make one change a decision that will affect your entire life and I've never been in anything similar, let alone something traumatic even (I'm lucky I guess). I mean, it's easy to try and save something you want to hold on to like your family. Would you have risked a family member's life for the sake of saving a stranger on the off chance you are not both discovered with unknown elements you are not aware of?