Video credit: Ron Bavarsky.
Holocaust survivor Miri Amir was reunited on Tuesday with Miroslawa Gruszczynska, the woman whose family hid her from the Nazis in Poland during World War II.
Amir hadn’t seen Gruszczynska in nearly 30 years - since the Gruszczynska family was awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem.
The "Righteous Among the Nations" is Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
Tuesday's reunion took place in Krakow at the opening dinner for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) "From Holocaust to Independence" delegation to Poland and Israel.
Speaking at the dinner was Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot. The delegation also included 40 US supporters of FIDF, Holocaust survivors from the United States and Israel, and IDF soldiers and officers.
After the dinner, the delegation will fly on an Israeli Air Force (IAF) transport jet from Poland to Israel, where they will visit IDF bases, commemorate Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, and celebrate Israel’s 69th Independence Day.
The dinner is part of the 10-day "From Holocaust to Independence" mission, which takes both IDF soldiers and Holocaust survivors on a trip across Poland, from Krakow to the Buczyna forest where the Nazis murdered over 800 children and then to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps.
"This historic delegation will trace the modern history of the Jewish people through the eyes of Holocaust survivors and IDF officers," FIDF National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir said. "It will tell the story of our near-extinction in Europe, the creation of a Jewish homeland, and the new generation of Jewish defenders of the Jewish people who safeguard our legacy today."
"Marching together into the dreadful Auschwitz-Birkenau camps with IDF soldiers and the survivors who somehow endured that torture sends a powerful message to the world that we remember, and that the Holocaust cannot and will not ever happen again. ‘Never again’ is not a platitude; it is our people’s solemn promise."
"This mission is one of the last opportunities for these survivors to return to Auschwitz and tell of its horrors," said Cohen. "It will be a roller-coaster emotional experience for everyone involved. We’ll be passing through the gates of hell, ignoring the false promise that ‘work will set you free,’ where countless Jews suffered from unimaginable cold, hunger, and despair."
"We’ll be surrounded by those who survived within the camps’ walls, and also by those who make sure they are not forgotten – the brave soldiers who protect their legacy: the State of Israel and the Jewish Diaspora around the world."