Four Survivor Grandparents: Run. Rely. Rebuild. (Holocaust Heritage)

Throughout World War II, four orphaned Jewish teenagers faced critical, life-altering decisions almost daily. In awe of the miracles that led to his existence, Shaya & Feigele and Romek & Sala’s grandson describes the extraordinary paths that helped them survive, ultimately converge, and rebuild their lives with purpose after the Holocaust in the US. Urged by his mother to “keep running”, blond-haired and blue-eyed Shaya Szlas (Sam) hid in forests and farms across Eastern Poland, always staying one step ahead. Feigele Kamelgarn (Fay) survived the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz but rarely spoke about it, choosing to focus on love and family instead of her painful past. Joachim “Romek” Wimmer (Jack) endured cruelties laboring in a Nazi munitions factory by forming strong bonds with fellow prisoners. Decades later, the former prisoner-turned dental-implantology-pioneer, found a measure of courtroom justice against his Nazi oppressor. Sala Dreksler (Sally) learned how to expertly handle threads and needles, sewing Nazi uniforms as if her life depended on it – because it did. Though shielded at first, their grandson shares the raw truth he learned of his grandparents’ harrowing journeys which still resonates and inspires. View Less