“It was a bitter cold day in Brooklyn, NY just a few years back – 2012. I saw an older woman waiting at the bus stop and pulled over to give her a ride. She didn’t want to burden me, but I insisted that she was doing me a favor. A few blocks in, and a million memories later – I realized that I was sitting next to a woman whose teenage years were ripped away from her and fear was never an option. Her name is Rosa Schwartz. A Holocaust survivor. She was 15 years old when she was in Auschwitz concentration camp. A little girl’s dreams and bright future suddenly interrupted by the worst event in all of history of mankind. Rosa lost her father, mother, and ALL her siblings. ALL because she was a Jew! 6 million Jews. SIX MILLION! After we arrived at her destination, she thanked me profusely for the unexpected ride. I thanked HER for the privilege to drive such a holy woman; a woman who’s seen it all, rose up from the ashes, and rebuilt a life for herself even after all her soul had endured. I asked her if can take a picture of her arm – to never forget the horrors that she and millions of others lived through not even a century ago. Rosa witnessed hatred and evil at its core. Why? Because. She. Was. A. Jew. I promised Rosa that I will #neverforget.” – @shimiadar
Source: American Society for Yad Vashem
