Holocaust Survivors Finally Get Bar Mitzvahed - 70 Years Later

Holocaust Survivors Finally Get Bar Mitzvahed - 70 Years Later

A unique Bar Mitzvah ceremony took place at the Kotel Monday. The ceremony was not for thirteen year old kids, but for a group of senior citizens – the youngest of them 80 years of age – who were in concentration camps or on the run in World War II-era Europe when they were 13. After many decades, the members of the group were finally able to celebrate their special day.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, members of the group said that the ceremony and celebration were "very emotional for us. Who would believe we would be able to celebrate a Bar-Mitzvah?"

"When I was 13 I was in a death camp," said one of the survivors. "I never dreamed I would celebrate my Bar-Mitzvah."

"For me, it is the closing of a circle," said another participant. "Better late than never."

"For us, it is the celebration not just of a Bar-Mitzvah, but of the victory of survival," said another participant.

The celebrants expressed their thanks to the Kotel Heritage Center for arranging the event.

Originally found here

Related Articles

More From Shoah

The Jewish Ghettos of World War II

The ghettos of World War II were established by the Nazis to create a total confinement for the…
The Jewish Ghettos of World War II
Dachau Crematorium

Dachau and Yad Vashem

Dachau, Munich Area, Germany The barracks and lavatories were drab grays and browns, concrete…
Dachau and Yad Vashem

Rose Lipszyc

Rose Lipszyc was born to a Jewish family in Poland in 1929, and lived a life of relative peace,…
Rose Lipszyc

Hidden Children

Even today, no one knows how many Jewish children were hidden during the war. The one most…
Hidden Children

Sir Nicholas Winton

Man saves hundreds, now unknowingly is sitting among them.
Sir Nicholas Winton

Children During the Holocaust

Children were especially vulnerable in the era of the Holocaust. The Nazis advocated killing…
Children During the Holocaust

Helena Sitkowska

In 1939 Helena Sitkowska was a widow, a retired teacher, and a mother of two: 15-year-old…
Helena Sitkowska

Gertrude Luckner

Gertrud Luckner was born in the year 1900 in Liverpool. Soon she comprehended the reach of the…
Gertrude Luckner

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation