ON THE 80TH COMMEMORATION OF LIBERATION, 80 AUSCHWITZ SURVIVORS EACH SHARE ONE PERSONAL MEMORY FROM THE HOLOCAUST THEY WANT THE WORLD TO NEVER FORGET

Claims Conference Launches "I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This" To Commemorate The 80^th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Auschwitz, The Extermination Camp Notorious For The Murder Of More Than 1.1 Million Jewish Men, Women And Children.

Watch The Campaign Teaser Here: https://www.claimscon.org/rememberthis/ 

NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) today launched I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This, a new digital campaign featuring Holocaust survivors who endured the extermination camp synonymous with evil. This year marks the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest and deadliest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. More than 1.1 million people were murdered at the camp during its five years of operation.

This two-week social media campaign features Holocaust survivors answering the question: Given your experience as an Auschwitz survivor, what is one specific thing – a person, a moment or an experience – you want people to remember for generations to come?

The powerful responses include survivors wanting the world to remember family members, pivotal moments during the Holocaust and towns where they had lived that were dramatically changed or completely lost during World War II.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference said, "The horrors that occurred at Auschwitz were an evil that no human should ever endure, but also an evil that no human should ever forget. While it is difficult to imagine oneself in a concentration camp, we can all relate to wanting people to remember loved ones we've lost, experiences that shaped us and moments that were important to us. It is critical that we educate future generations about Auschwitz. I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This does so by connecting the generations with our shared humanity."

The campaign is inspired in part by Auschwitz survivor Aron Krell's testimony about his brother, Zvi, who died from starvation after a year in the Lodz ghetto. Aron Krell remembered Zvi – the second of three boys in their family – as a soccer player. But the lack of food, grueling forced labor and dearth of medical treatment left Zvi emaciated. Aron recalled the last words Zvi told him before passing, "Please never forget me." This campaign is a tribute to Aron, his brother Zvi and all the families lost, murdered and persecuted at the hands of the Nazis.

In his testimony, Aron Krell said, "I lost not only Zvi, but my brother Moshe and my mother, Esther in the Holocaust. I survived five concentration camps and ghettos – including Auschwitz. I know many people can't fathom what I have endured. But you can understand loving a brother like I loved Zvi, can imagine the unbearable pain that comes with losing one, and, hopefully, agree that the lessons of the Holocaust must always be remembered."

Judith Hervé-Elkán, 98, who now lives in France, stated that the image of mothers who chose to go with their children to the gas chambers rather than watch their children die alone is one that she will never forget. She wants the world to remember these mothers' unimaginable choice. "The mother dying with her child in her arms, leading her child to death, is, for me the most terrible of the images I still see today. So many mothers, not knowing what awaited them, didn't let go of their children, their babies, their little ones. What is more terrible in the world than to lead your child to death."

In her video, Herta Vyšná, an Auschwitz survivor from Slovakia, talks about her aunt and her two young children, four-year-old Lenka and six-year-old Erika, who were selected by Mengele for the gas chamber; about her father who died in Sachsenhausen; and about her mother who was selected by Mengele for unimaginable experiments and died. She recalled, "that is how I lost my parents and was orphaned at the age of thirteen. I wish for the memory of my family, who was murdered, to be preserved forever and ever."

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, "To truly ensure we never forget, campaigns like I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This play a critical role in reminding us that the Holocaust is not just history—it is the lived experience of real people who endured unimaginable atrocities. As we lose survivors, it is our responsibility to listen to their voices and carry their stories forward. Only by ensuring everyone understands that hatred and divisiveness were at the foundation of the Holocaust can we overcome ignorance and meet our obligation to remember."

In her testimony, Jona Laks, a twin who survived Mengele's experiments, stated, "I remember that day, at that same moment when we were left alone on the death march, I vowed that I would dedicate all my energy, all my time, everything, to telling, documenting, conveying to people and telling what happened. Because it is impossible for such a dark period to disappear from people's knowledge and not enter history."

Eva Szepesi, a survivor from Germany, spoke of her mother, her father and her younger brother, all of whom were murdered in the Holocaust. Her mother had sent her away to live under false papers in an attempt to save her. Despite the effort, Nazis found Szepesi and sent her to Auschwitz on November 3, 1944. "At the time, I didn't know my mother, Valerie, and my little brother, Tamas, had already been sent to Auschwitz and murdered there. And when I entered the gate there, they saw me from above. I didn't think about it then. Thinking of it would have been fatal."

Ella Blumenthal, 103 years old of South Africa, wants the world to remember she never gave up hope in Auschwitz despite losing 23 members of her immediate family. She and her niece, Roma, survived. "She begged me to end our suffering by throwing ourselves onto the electrified fence because she said the only way out of Auschwitz was through the chimney. I convinced her to wait one more day – and then again another day – because I wasn't ready to die. I wanted to live."

The 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz comes at a time when the world is experiencing a dramatic rise in antisemitism, divisive global politics and the animosity of racism.

The new campaign also includes a series of videos of notable survivors who have passed, including Roman Kent and Elie Wiesel, and is accompanied by a four-part series of short videos on the history of Auschwitz. The series includes videos about specific Auschwitz facts and historical videos of well-known people associated with Auschwitz, including Anne Frank and Lali Solokov, a tattooist in Auschwitz.

I Survived Auschwitz: Remember This and all associated video content, including the biographies from 80 Auschwitz survivors, can be found on the Claims Conference social media channels and online at www.claimscon.org/rememberthis/.

For more information about the Claims Conference, please visit: www.claimscon.org

SOURCE Claims Conference