76th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz: Remembering the Holocaust in the Shadow of the Plague Israel today

They survived the death camps and the inferno of the Nazis • Now they are fighting for health and against loneliness - thanks to the support of the next generation • A hug between survivors and grandchildren • A special project

Ten days before the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazis decided to send Eli Curtis (92) to extermination.

His cousin had already been sent, and he waited his turn, but then the camp was liberated and Curtis' life was saved.

He established three generations in Kibbutz Dan in the Upper Galilee, but the last year has been especially difficult for him. 

"I was at home all the time, alone. The loneliness is hard, especially the holidays without the family. The hardest thing was not to hug the grandchildren, the separation from the family," Curtis says. 

"I got the second vaccine, and now it's easier for me mentally. I'm already hugging the kids and want to hug them as much as possible to complete what this year has robbed me of. That's what keeps me alive."

Nitzat Flusman-Rahum, his granddaughter, added: "During the Corona period, I met my grandfather, but we could not hug. Now it is finally possible to hug."

"The grandchildren are watching over us"

This is the first time since February 2020 that Grandma Jenin (83) from Hadera and Captain Yotam Zeituni, a veteran of the Artillery Brigade, meet, not to mention his brother - Lieutenant Eviatar Zeituni, Sgt. - who have not yet met their grandmother after receiving the second vaccine. 

Grandma Jenin's three grandchildren are her victory and the fulfillment of the dreams she had as a little girl who survived the Holocaust.

"The last period of the virus brings back memories of the period in the 1940s, when I was a child in Paris and it was impossible to leave home and meet friends and family, but the significant difference is that now my husband and I sleep peacefully with my three warring grandchildren guarding me and our dear country - the people of Israel live ".

Yotam relates that "as a Jew, a third generation Holocaust survivor, I swore to myself to take Grandma's heritage and stories as a force to do our important mission, and that is to preserve the state we have."

"Want to hug the grandchildren"

Noah Finkelstein (92) from Timrat, who is part of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council, was born in Poland and survived the exile camps in Siberia. 

For nearly a year he did not see any of his grandchildren at all, as his daughters feared endangering him by contracting in Corona.

"Even when I met some of them, I could not get close or hug them and we all wore a mask. It took at least half of my enjoyment," Finkelstein said, "I will get the second vaccine, and although it still needs to be saved, I am very happy and hope it will be over soon."  

Finkelstein has three daughters, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, and they are no less waiting for the long-awaited hug.

"I came back from a trip to the East because of the corona and since then I have not hugged him properly," said his granddaughter Amit Lang, "Recently Grandpa celebrated a birthday, and everyone congratulated him and then it was the hardest.

"The Corona - Wing Trimming"

Jordana Zalewski, 93, a Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz who lives in Jerusalem, recently received her second vaccine against the Corona virus - and hopes to return to normal life. 

"I'm waiting for this closure to end," Zalewski said.

The corona, she says, "bothers me because it cuts off wings for a person. It impairs the openness and freedom of body and soul. I want to get back to routine soon, but know it will take some more time for the corona to run out." 

She notes: "I'm still scared and it's an unpleasant time, because despite the vaccinations I have to wear a mask and it bothers me. Now after the vaccination I'm with my children and grandchildren, and I feel like I'm coming home."