Biography

Alex is only five years young when he becomes a witness and victim of one of the worst crimes of mankind: The Nazis imprison the Polish-born Jew and his family in the Warsaw Ghetto, the terrible camp for deportations to the Treblinka death factory. In 1942, Alex and his mother escape the gas chambers – thanks to a Russian nanny who passes the boy off as her son.

After the war, Alex lives in a refugee camp in Italy for five years. At 16, he emigrates to the USA. He studies chemistry and earns a doctorate. The young Dr. Hershaft makes a career in environmental research. In 1972, while examining wastewater in a slaughterhouse for a consulting firm, he sees mountains of animal body parts. The sight reminds him of images of the Holocaust. His insight: a more peaceful world will only be possible if we do not tolerate violence and oppression in any form – not even towards animals.

Multi-activist and long-term vegan