Child Survives Holocaust to Tell Her Story:

ARLINGTON, Va. – For many people, stories of the Holocaust and those who lived through it are part of a history lesson. But for some, those stories are more than a history lesson —“ it’s their childhood.

As part of the national Days of Remembrance event commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, the Army National Guard recently hosted Elzbieta Straussburger, who lived through the Holocaust as a child.

Straussburger spoke of her experiences during World War II and how the war personally affected her and her family. For many in attendance, it gave a human face to the Holocaust through firsthand experiences of events that happened almost 70 years ago.

“On the first of September 1939, the Germans came,” said Straussburger, who was barely a year old at the time. “They came from the west and the Russians came from the east and in 17 days [our life] was gone.”

As a result of the invasion, her father went into the Polish army.

“He felt that he wanted to do things for his country,” she said. “He was a physician, and he knew that he would be useful.”

Straussburger and her mother wouldn’t see him again until after the war.

“We lost track of him totally … My mother was 27 when this happened. So, what does a young, 27-year-old woman with a child do? She went to her mother…”

A really excellent story that delves into the realities of life, realities that are often overlooked or misinterpreted.