Bernie Schanzer

Holocaust Survivors on Hope, Survival, and the Responsibility to Remember

Bernie Schanzer, Sheara Fredman

Brothers Henry and Bernie Shanzer recount their survival of the Holocaust as hidden children in Belgium and France, relying on their mother and four French rescuers who sheltered them from arrest and deportation during World War II. Despite their father's death in Convoy 27 and initial betrayal by a caretaker, the boys were saved through a network of false documents and hidden on farms before reuniting with their family in 1945, earning posthumous "Righteous Among the Nations" recognition for their saviors. The speakers emphasize the ongoing relevance of their testimony by linking historical persecution to modern anti-Semitic violence, urging the audience to maintain active vigilance and moral courage to prevent future atrocities.