“It all happened so fast. The ghetto. The deportation. The sealed cattle car. The fiery altar upon which the history of our people and the future of mankind were meant to be sacrificed.” A quote from holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel sums up how nearly every person, whether they survived the holocaust or not, felt. This true devastating tragedy is one of the worst things that has happened throughout mankind. With the mixture of horror, torture, and much much more, what the people from the holocaust have been through is absolutely indescribable. Although many people were very unfortunate to not make it out of the holocaust alive, there were few who did manage to work their way through it for years and have happily shared their stories.
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Val grew up in Lithuania, and came from a Jewish family of open-minded people who did not believe in organised religion. Although as a young adult Val wanted to become a pilot, his dream was not fulfilled and he enrolled to study architecture. Val’s hopes and dreams were sadly crushed by what was coming to him. On August 15th, 1941, the Jewish population was crammed into a ghetto in a small suburb of Kaunas surrounded by barbed wire and armed sentries. With had no fuel and barely any food, Val was sent out as a slave labourer and kept his remaining family alive with potato peel, which his mother cleaned and cooked. Nearly 10,000 people were taken away and shot because of the 'Children's Action' in spring 1944, when all the ghetto children, along with anyone who was old, sick, or disabled, were taken away and murdered. By the time Val was liberated by the American army on May 1st, 1945, Val could be described as 'a walking skeleton'. Val soon fell into a deep depression, of the 14 family members who gathered to decide whether to stay or go, he was the only one left alive. From the results of the concentration camp, only 2,000 Jewish citizens of were found alive out of the original 35,000. Val spent six months in hospital, and while he was there, he met his future wife Ibi. Val describes their meeting as 'therapeutic'. Val and Ibi remained a strong couple for over 60 years. Sadly, Val Ginsburg died in 2011, he will forever be know for his strong will and brave personality, he will be missed
Val grew up in Lithuania, and came from a Jewish family of open-minded people who did not believe in organised religion. Although as a young adult Val wanted to become a pilot, his dream was not fulfilled and he enrolled to study architecture. Val’s hopes and dreams were sadly crushed by what was coming to him. On August 15th, 1941, the Jewish population was crammed into a ghetto in a small suburb of Kaunas surrounded by barbed wire and armed sentries. With had no fuel and barely any food, Val was sent out as a slave labourer and kept his remaining family alive with potato peel, which his mother cleaned and cooked. Nearly 10,000 people were taken away and shot because of the 'Children's Action' in spring 1944, when all the ghetto children, along with anyone who was old, sick, or disabled, were taken away and murdered. By the time Val was liberated by the American army on May 1st, 1945, Val could be described as 'a walking skeleton'. Val soon fell into a deep depression, of the 14 family members who gathered to decide whether to stay or go, he was the only one left alive. From the results of the concentration camp, only 2,000 Jewish citizens of were found alive out of the original 35,000. Val spent six months in hospital, and while he was there, he met his future wife Ibi. Val describes their meeting as 'therapeutic'. Val and Ibi remained a strong couple for over 60 years. Sadly, Val Ginsburg died in 2011, he will forever be know for his strong will and brave personality, he will be missed