WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Underneath all of the joy at the Eat & Schmooze event at the Alpert Jewish Family Service Center there is a pain so deep it's almost unfathomable. That agony is inflicted, because of World War II and the Holocaust.
"We were lucky to get on the last train coming from Odessa to Siberia," survivor Sophia Shargorodsky said.
Shargorodsky is a Russian native. She is reminiscing about her family's train ride in search of a safe haven. A perilous journey with German planes dropping bombs during the war.
"There was a law that the driver should stop and let the people out of the train," she said. "But the driver was carrying his family in this train. And he decided not to obey, and he moved and that's why we're saved."
When it comes to the Holocaust, the phrase "never again" is spoken by the Jewish community. It resonates with the commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day—a day that remembers the killing of millions of Jews persecuted during World War II.
"It's terrible, it's awful, it should never happen again, because people cannot go through this," survivor Leonora Neyman said.
With the number of Holocaust survivors dwindling as time goes on, a gathering like the one at the Alpert Jewish Service Center gives a day to reflect on the lives touched and the journeys they are able to share.
"When the war ended, we lived in Siberia," Shargorodsky said. "My mom decided to dance on the table. She was so happy."
Jan. 27 was chosen to commemorate the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated.
