Three Words That Saved Two Lives
A few years ago, I donated a German passport to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, along with a description explaining the meaning of each entry.
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Read reflections and testimonies written by Holocaust survivors in their own words.
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A Blissful Event
The year was 1963, and I was serving in the Israeli air force. I worked as a programmer on that famous huge Philco computer that filled a whole floor.
Where I Feel Best
After I survived the Holocaust in Poland, my mother, father, sister, and I moved to England, where we were generously accepted as we tried to move past the terrible years of World War II. We were among the few lucky ones who survived. So many did not. According to statistics, only about 2 percent of Polish Jews lived through the Holocaust.
The Choices We Make, Part I
There have been many moments in my adult life when I have had to make a decision. Sometimes, I had to choose one option from a list of many. Sometimes, I had only two bad options. And, rarely, I had two good ones.
Searching for a Father
For chunks of time during my childhood, my dad, Victor, was missing from my life. During the German occupation, he was forced into manual labor.
Becoming Who I Am
My mother’s oft-repeated axiom to me was, “Remember the good, forget the bad.” Undoubtedly, that is how she willed herself to move on with life after the Nazis robbed her of a husband and two daughters.
A Family Photograph
This is one of about a hundred photographs of my family that survived the Holocaust and that have allowed me a glimpse of life before the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands and before I was born.
A Moment of Great Joy
When I received this assignment with this title, there was no doubt in my mind what my subject would be. Several occasions crossed my mind as occasions of great joy, but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became of my first choice.
Friedel
The red clay mixed with brown earth makes a somber noise as it is shoveled onto the plain pine casket. It contains the body of my second cousin Friedel.
The Yellow Badge
My grandmother had a box filled with buttons, threads, and pieces of fabric.
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Survivor Reflections and Testimonies
Listen to or read Holocaust survivors’ experiences, told in their own words through oral histories, written testimony, and public programs.