A few days ago Ohrsom Student and I had the honour and privilege of meeting Mordichai Ciechanower - a survivor of the holocaust.
At just 18 years old he was sent to Auschwitz - Birkenau - the largest death camp. Mordechai and his father were sent there together in 1940.
He was separated from his father when they arrived as his father was sick and thought he would never see him again. Thats how Auschwitz worked. Links (left) was death and regs (right) was life. I cant even begin to imagine what it would have been like to be separated from my family.
I asked him how did he survive such an evil place. He told me that he learnt how to fix the roofs of the barracks and offices where the Nazis worked and he was given just a enough food to survive.
He showed us his number that was tattooed on him when he arrived - 81434. We all stood their in silence. I had cold shivers running down my spine. I could barely keep my camera still.
Mordechai proceeded to tell us more stories. He told us that he managed to put on his Tefillin every single day and this was one of the reasons he believes that he survived.
Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, he had spent 5 years in there. When mordechai came out, he weighed 31kg. The doctor put him on a diet and gave him strict instructions on what to eat in order to make a recovery.
Mordechai moved to Munich and his one friend who had also survived the war had told him he had a surprise for him.
They walked over to a school and in the classroom was his father teaching Gemora. They both fainted when they saw each other. They knew they would never be separated ever again.
More info: boredpanda.com