by Rabbi Yossi Refson [Shliach to Charleston, SC] – The Charleston Post and Courier
Today marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest of some 15,000 concentration, extermination and forced-labor camps established by the Germans during World War II. It is estimated that, at minimum, 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of which at least 1.1 million were murdered.
As a rabbi in this community here in Charleston and a grandson of one of those fortunate to have survived the horrors of Auschwitz, much about this dark chapter in human history informs my personal and professional life.
My late Bubby (Grandma) Bluma was 13 when her mother, five older siblings and their children were exterminated under the orders of Josef Mengele, aptly referred to as the “Angel of Death.”