Holocaust Survivor Shares His Story With S. FL Students
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Holocaust survivor and violin virtuoso is in South Florida and sharing his story with students.
Samuel Marder, 83, shared his story of surviving the Holocaust with young people at Miami Arts Charter School because they share a lot in common.
He says, years ago, it was prejudice that led to the Holocaust.
Now, Marder believes prejudice is fueling bullying.
He went into detail about the night he was pulled from his home and taken to a camp at just 10-years-old.
"All I can remember from that night was the mashing of teeth from the cold. And shots being fired all night. And afterwards I found out those shots were not aimed at the air. A lot of people got killed that night," said Marder.
Marder's mother and sister would survive the ordeal, but he would be forever changed.
"Words are never enough. There are certain emotions that can never be expressed in words. Only those who go through such a thing can understand it," said Marder.
Marder toured the world with his music, penned books about his experiences.
Now, he spends his time speaking to young people with the hope a lesson can be learned from the past.
"My hope is that I will be able erase from hate from their life," Marder added.
The students took to the message and when Marder stepped off the stage, students came up to him to share how much they were moved by his words.
"I know it must have been really hard. I was even crying during the speech. It really touched me," said one student.
Marder thinks he connects with kids because prejudice still lives on today, but now we call it bullying.
"It's related to it and unfortunately I have a feeling that because they are born into a world of prejudice it's natural for them to bullying others. To look down at others" added Marder.
Marder has put his experiences into a series of short stories and poems.
He will be sharing excerpts from the book Thursday, February 6 at Books & Books in Bal Harbour.