Holocaust survivor explains worrisome similarities between present-day and childhood

It’s been nearly four months since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people in a single day and taking 247 hostages, including Americans.

Death is a consequence of war. So many lives, even innocent ones, have been lost on both sides during that time.

It’s something that Holocaust survivor Samuel Harris pains to see.

On the Eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Harris told WINK News Anchor Nicole Gabe during an interview at the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center that if Hamas gets its way, he worries not only for Jews but also for Americans.

Harris sees what’s happening in our world and worries about the future we are marching toward.

Anti-semitism is on the rise not only in Florida but across the United States. An ongoing war against the Jewish people in Gaza.

“I lived the American dream. Now suddenly, the threat from the river to the sun to their sea, you’re gonna kill all the Jews, not only in Israel but in the world. And that includes me,” said Harris.

Harris is no ordinary Jew; he’s a Holocaust survivor. He saw his family taken away on the cattle cars.

Harris lived because his dad pushed him out of line to hide with his older sisters.

“We heard yelling and crying and shooting. Pretty soon, they all marched off in the direction of the cattle cars in that lane where my parents, sisters, brothers, cousins, neighbors, and friends all went in the cattle cars. To Treblinka or one of those two. And that’s the last time I saw my family,” said Harris.

After the war, Harris made it to America. Not only did he survive, he thrived only to feel threatened again.

On Oct. 7, Hamas whose sole mission is to wipe all the Jews off the face of the Earth, attacked Israel from Gaza. Thousands have died fighting, which presently rages on.

When asked if he owed it to the younger generations to share his story following the Oct. 7, attack, Harris responded adamantly.

“Absolutely,” Harris said. “I feel like now it’s more important to share it with the younger generation.”

Nearly 80 years later, the Holocaust survivor is experiencing a bizarre and troubling sort of deja vu, seeing what he witnessed as a young boy.

“You see signs now, burn the Jews, as Hitler did, Hitler didn’t finish the job,” said Harris. “It was heartbreaking for me because I looked at it. And not just as a Jew from a concentration camp. I looked at it from America as a citizen.”

As we approach Holocaust Remembrance Day, Harris is worried. Not just for the Jewish people but for Americans, too.

“Somebody once said freedom is not free. You got to fight for it,” said Harris.

It’s why Harris hopes everyone watching is getting the message.

“You will survive, you will survive. History shows that you will survive somehow. Good does prevail,” said Harris.

Harris has made it his life’s mission to educate others on the Holocaust. He fears if we become too vulnerable, the same history he experienced as a young boy will repeat itself.

Harris’s book, “Sammy: Child Survivor of the Holocaust,” is available all over the world.

Click here for information on buying his book.