Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. A day designated to remember and memorialize the six million Jews and countless members of other minorities who perished at the hands of the Nazis, between 1933 and 1945.
My mother, Elaine (Itu) Bieber (Rosenberg), along with her mother and sisters and many other family members were carted off from their home town in occupied Romania along the Ukrainian border, (Stramtura, Maramures), to the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, . There they, with a multitude of other victims suffered unimaginable horrors.
My grandmother, Rivkah, was murdered on the first day of arrival to the camp. Miraculously, Itu and her sisters survived. We lost our mom last year at the age of 97 and I think of her every day. She always talked to us about what happened to her and taught us to never forget.
When I was running schools, she would not only visit our family but would make it her business to meet with students to recount her stories and to answer questions. She is my hero and remains my guiding light.
Below is a photo of Elaine and a link to a video of her speaking to a HS history class at the International School of Prague in 2010.
Never forget!
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