Introduction

In all the generations - they seek to destroy us, buy why only us - only the almighty saved us... and why me?

I was more dead than alive and did anything to survive through the Second World War. For years I ran barefoot, without direction, through forests, barriers, gunshots, and across borders. I was cold and starving, but my will was stronger than iron. When I faced danger, I looked fear in the face and did not tremble - not because I had no fear, but because I did not care. At night, I wept for my mother. Every day I told myself, "if I can get past this I will survive".
    Every survivor's tale is one of choices - decisions that either spared you or led to death. I survived only by luck. When the war ended and I saw with my own eyes what had occurred, I could not believe what had happened or that anyone else would ever believe me. I thought hat everything was lost - even our house had been leveled to the ground. When I thought about my family's and friends' deaths I felt guilty and ashamed to have lived. There was nothing special or outstanding about me. Some people have suggested that there was a mission divinely assigned to me - I was "chosen" to live. Many people wiser, wealthier or more educated than I who perished would have been better messengers to tell this story about the past and interpret its meaning for the future. I am not a writer or a scholar. I did not even receive my high school diploma until I was fifty-seven years old!
    I tried to rebuild my life after the war. I went to Israel to fight for independence, to live in peace, and to find a home, but my heart was unsettled. I journeyed to America, a free country, to start a new life, but freedom is a state of mind and I remained a prisoner of my past. Even today, when I close my eyes to sleep at night, the nightmares conjure up my worst fears.
    It is difficult to absolve the world for remaining silent because only Jews were being killed. Six million Jews were led to agonizing, barbaric and dehumanizing deaths; their only crime was being Jewish. People say, "The Jews are a smart race. Why didn't they resist?" I cannot answer this. I only know that I was

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