On the eve of Yom HaShoah - Holocaust memorial day, United States Citizen and Holocaust Survivor Edward Mosberg was bestowed the ‘Order of Merit’ from the President of Poland.
In a moving ceremony this afternoon in the Krakow City Hall, Under Secretary of State of State for the Republic of Poland Wojciech Kolarski, bestowed the honor ‘Order of Merit’ to Holocaust Survivor Edward Mosberg. In attendance was Cantor Shai Abramson with choir master Ofir Sobol who performed two special songs from the book of psalms and former manager of the Israeli National Soccer team and Chelsea soccer club Mr. Avram Grant.
In his speech prior to awarding Mr. Mosberg, under secretary Kolarski said “It is my honor on behalf of the President of Poland to come to Krakow today, the city of your birth, the city that unites us as Poles and Jews to give you this special award, for all you do in promoting Holocaust education and your tireless work in building relations between Poles and Jews.”
After receiving the award Mr. Mosberg said “I never expected or dreamed of receiving such a honor, I don’t do what I do to be recognized, I do what I do, to make sure the truth is told, to make sure that the younger generations know and understand what our past was, that we never forget that the blame for the Holocaust is on the German nation, who without them voting for Hilter and supporting the German Nazi Party, none of this would have ever happened.’ he added, “We must be truthful when it comes to the past, we must be so careful, because every mistake or untruth that is told, denies the basic facts of the Holocaust. The recent troubles between Poland and Israel upset me deeply, our two nations were the biggest victims of the German Nazi regime, whilst we cannot and must not forget the bad things that happened, and they did, there were bad people who did bad things, we should also remember the good! we should never forget the Polish heroes, so many of whom we will never know their names.”
Jonny Daniels, Founder of ‘From The Depths’ a foundation run entirely by millennials dealing with Holocaust Education who was present at the event said, “It was truly an honor to see Mr. Mosberg being recognized, he is so deserved of such accolades, at 93 years old his energy and fight is something inspirational for us all. It is our job to make sure that stories such as his and other survivors is never forgotten.
Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg (93) was born in Krakow and currently lives in New Jersey. He contributed to the deepening of dialogue between Jews and Poles, and tirelessly worked to promote education about the Holocaust around the world. Edward Mosberg is one of the last survivors who survived Płaszów and Mathausen. At the time when World War II broke out, Mosberg was 13 years old. In 1941, his family was sent to the ghetto in Krakow, and even before that his father was captured and hearing about him was lost. In 1943, the ghetto was "liquidated"; his mother went to Auschwitz, where she was murdered. The children were sent to Plaszow, and from there to numerous German Nazi concentration camps, including Mathausen. He fought with tuberculosis for many months in an Italian sanatorium. In spite of everything, 19-year-old swore to live a full life - again he made contact with Cesia Storch, a girl from Krakow who lived in camp barracks with his sisters. With only 7th grade and 10 dollars in his pocket in 1951, Edward arrived in New York with his new fiancé, living in Harlem with their 18-month-old daughter (later they had three daughters and six grandchildren). Mosberg was employed in three different places at the same time, including he sutured pocket books, earning 50 cents an hour before he was successful in the development industry. Today, Edward speaks throughout the world, educating and nurturing the memory of the Holocaust.