On Holocaust Survivor Day, more than 125 Holocaust survivors gathered in Cooper City, brought together by the Goodman Jewish Family Services organization.
They got together to reflect on their harrowing pasts and express growing concern over the resurgence of antisemitism.
Memories of a traumatized childhood
Izabella Markovskaya and Willy Lipschutz, both infants during World War II, shared memories of lives uprooted by the Nazis.
“We were running. We were trying to hide. That was my life. Many years again and again and again,” said Markovskaya.
“By the time I was six months old my father was taken away. Most my family was taken away. Somehow by miracle my mother was able to escape with me to Switzerland,” Lipschutz recalled.
After the war, he and his mother were the only family members to return to Belgium.
“The [city] was just in a state of panics. Very very depressed. You know and I was put into a Jewish orphanage,” he said.
A warning for the future
Despite the music and dancing with children at the commemorative event, both survivors say today’s growing antisemitism is deeply disturbing.
“Oh my God, I feel that I am about to die, and I am experiencing the same horrible situation I experienced as a baby. The antisemitism is growing. It’s growing. It’s growing. It’s unbelievable,” said Lipschutz.
“I am thinking all the time about God. God give us freedom. Give us that freedom in the world,” said Markovskaya.
According to the Goodman Jewish Family Services, this event represents only a small portion of Broward County’s approximately 1,500 Holocaust survivors.
