'I Survived With Music': Founder Of Holocaust Survivor Band
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Music is known to soothe the soul but can it save your life? One South Florida man says yes because it saved him while he was imprisoned in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Now, Saul Drier is using music to spread a message of peace all over the world.
At 92 years old, Saul Drier is a force of nature.
He is a Holocaust survivor and the founder of the Holocaust Survivor Band.
Like so many other survivors that CBS4 News Anchor Rick Folbaum has had the honor of meeting, Saul has a life affirming spirit that defies the horrors of his past.
Born in Krakow Poland, he survived three concentration camps. In one of them, he realized he could lift the spirits of his fellow prisoners by creating music.
"I figure how can I get a sound, so I took two spoons," he explained to Rick as he starts singing the song Hava Nagila.
Rick asked, "And this is what you would do in the camp?"
Saul replied, "Yes. If I wanted to survive, I wanted to survive with two things, music and food. Food was not enough, so I survived with music."
After the war, like so many other survivors, Saul made his way to America. He got married, raised a family, and lived a long life. Then, four years ago, at the age of 88, he got an idea. He wanted to start a band, he told his wife.
"She says 'You're crazy'. I went to my rabbi. He says 'Saul, what do you need to do that for. Don't do it'."
But no one could talk him out of it.
"I don't have to eat. I don't have to drink. Just do it," he said.
The Holocaust Survivor Band is made up of survivors and the children of survivors. They perform in South Florida and all over the world. They most recently played a gig in Parkland.
They have been to Poland, Israel and even played a private concert outside the gates at Auschwitz, one of World War II's most notorious Nazi concentration camps
"I want to go to Budapest, Japan. I want people to know that Holocaust survivors survived and we want peace all over the world.
Saul Drier has done more than survive. He has transformed himself into a messenger of peace, music, and love.
The Holocaust Survivor Band is available for hire.
Click here for more information on their Facebook page.