Holocaust survivor to young people: "This hurt is preventable, yours is the power to make a change"
DANIA BEACH - The life of Judy Rodan is truly an extraordinary one.
"I'm so grateful that these nuns and priests kept me alive," said Rodan.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Rodan comes from a middle-class Jewish family.
She says when she was just six years old, her grandmother sent her to live with a Catholic woman in Hungary. Rodan was told her family would meet her the next day.
"They never arrived the next day," said Rodan.
Rodan eventually found out her family was taken to Auschwitz the day after she left and murdered along with millions of others.
"In that six million, there were a million and a half little children. My little brother included," said Rodan.
Rodan was brought up in a Catholic convent and eventually was given a new name and religion.
Decades later, she's sharing her story with a younger generation.
"It's education, education, education with love," said Rodan.
The Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Dania Beach aims to educate the community about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Faye Fogielgarn, a second-generation Holocaust survivor, says it's imperative for survivors to share their stories with young people.
"This hurt is preventable, and I do believe that it is in the hands of the younger generation, to know that they have the power to make a change," said Fogielgarn.
As the students wandered the center, checking out interactive stories of survivors, those who lived through the atrocity of the Holocaust say we need to learn from it — to be sure the past is never repeated.
Monday marks Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust day of remembrance, and all across the county, there will be events to honor the lives of those lost and those who survived.