Stories REMEMBER

I was born and raised in Israel to Holocaust survivors Paula & Mordechai Fried. On the evening before Yom HaShoah, all TV movies, interviews and personal stories are only about the Holocaust. Each year more survivors are willing to tell their stories, though many would be glad to forget. It is unforgettable for those who were there and must not be forgotten by the world. My childhood ‘Fairy Tales’ were my mother’s nostalgic stories about her past before WWII. Growing up I realized that all her family members didn’t survive; though I felt I knew them from her vivid stories that brought them to life. The morning of Holocaust day starts with a sounding siren, everyone in Israel stands for a silent moment to honor the innocent victims. In schools the siren is followed by a ceremony participated in by students of all ages, accompanied with families and guests. At that moment of silence, I always came back to two strong images. One is the separation of my mother from her mother and sisters, the other is my mother holding eight family photos she found in Auschwitz- Birkenau … Every year I asked my mother: “how can you be so optimistic in life after losing your whole family?”

My Mother told me: “The evil has already happened, from now on it can only be good” this was her motto; she was happy to be able to build a new life along with remembering those who didn’t survive.