July 16, 2009

Stories of hope from the Holocaust


Their stories convey experiences of hope, persecution, and survival. They are the testimonies of several Jews who were Nazi prisoners during World War II.

By means of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, they speak today from the point of view of having seen the war first hand, of having lost their family, and of their experiences of the concentration and extermination camps, all during the Second World War.

”One day, when I was 40 years old, they brought me directly from where I worked in a college to a place where there were already
other women. I could not say goodbye to my father.”

”The worst thing that happened in Auschwitz were the last days when we were liberated by the Soviet army, because we did not know if the Nazis were going to kill us all because it seemed that their intention was to destroy everything, with us still inside.”

¨And the hardest times during the 5 year occupation of the Germans were in August of 1942, when my mom and I were arrested in order to be deported, we were lucky to be liberated by a law.”

”My father and I were the only ones left in my direct family. Since I
speak German, I worked in Himmler´s representative office in a city for Jews, for Jewish issues.”

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has a broad range of educational programs, historic preservation, award ceremonies, public awareness campaigns, art and events that advance the endorsement and popularization of civil rights and that stress the value of human dignity, liberty, justice, and equality. At present, the Foundation has headquarters in New York, Jerusalem, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

You can watch the video in the following languages