A Holocaust survivor’s perspective on history changes after the events of Oct. 7 – KGET 17

Holocaust Survivor from Kibbutz Mefalsim to Visit Auschwitz on Remembrance Day

KIBBUTZ MEFALSIM, Israel (AP) — The recent attack by Hamas fighters on southern Israel has brought a somber tone to this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel. For Judith Tzamir, a Holocaust survivor from Germany living in Kibbutz Mefalsim, the attack prompted her to make a pilgrimage she had long avoided: a visit to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

Tzamir, along with 55 other Holocaust survivors from around the world, will participate in the March of the Living, a 2-mile march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where approximately 1 million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany. This year’s event will also include Israeli hostages released from captivity in Gaza and families of those still held captive.

The attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 others, has deeply affected Tzamir and the residents of Mefalsim. While no fatalities occurred in the kibbutz, the residents were evacuated and have been living in a hotel north of Tel Aviv for the past seven months.

Despite the trauma of the attack and the memories it brought up from her childhood, Tzamir remains determined to return to Mefalsim. As she prepares to visit Auschwitz on Holocaust Remembrance Day, she reflects on the importance of remembering the past and the ongoing presence of antisemitism in the world.

As Tzamir and her husband Ran tend to their garden before their trip to Poland, she expresses her determination to come back to her home in Mefalsim. For this 80-year-old Holocaust survivor, the resilience and strength to rebuild and reclaim her home are a testament to the enduring spirit of survival.