My grandfather plotted a daring escape from Auschwitz. Here's how he cheated death

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Holocaust Remembrance Day: 'Book of Names' on display at UN

Decades-long project names 4.8 million victims to be honored.

A generation ago, during a dedication speech at the future site of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan remarked: "The world has learned that when the truth is turned on its head, Holocausts become possible." 

We now live in another era of "fake news," where the truth is often turned upside down – and the ramifications are severe. Driven by public spread of misinformation and disinformation, antisemitism is surging globally. Perpetrators are imprinting swastikas in lawns, chanting "Jews will not replace us" during marches and committing violence. These incidents are eerily similar to some events in 1930s Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, millions deny the Holocaust ever happened or know little about it. 

That's why on this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is essential to educate the public about the atrocities committed only about 80 years ago. One way is to visit a memorial or display, such as an exhibit about the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in occupied Poland, which debuts at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in March.  

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Another way to educate about the Holocaust is to pass survivors’ stories on to the next generations. 

Holocaust survivor Benjamin Samuelson had to escort children, including his own sister, to the gas chamber at Auschwitz. 

Many of the prisoners that survived the camps went on to live fulfilling lives, despite the trauma and hardship they endured. One of them was my grandfather, Benjamin Samuelson, who survived multiple camps after being taken from his home in Romania at age 14. His fight exemplifies how human will and hope can help one persevere through unimaginable horrors. 

My grandfather, who died earlier this century, endured traumas I can scarcely comprehend. For example, he had to escort children, including his own sister, to the gas chamber at Auschwitz. "I’ll never forget that," he told an interviewer in 1997, wiping away tears.  

He himself narrowly evaded death, and likely would have been among the over 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, if not for an especially remarkable escape. At Auschwitz in 1944, he was assigned to the Sonderkommandos, a unit responsible for working the gas chamber and crematorium. Few survived this group because the Nazis systematically executed them after 90 days of labor. 

The entrance to Auschwitz read "ARBEIT MACHT FREI," German for "work sets you free." But my grandfather had other ideas of freedom. 

After another prisoner told him of his impending doom, he set out to flee the camp. Every day for weeks he sought a plan, clinging to his hope. 

One day he was asked to dispose of clothing that belonged to murdered children. As he was tossing clothes into piles, it dawned on him: Either he would be killed in a few weeks regardless, or he could risk trying to escape and be killed that day if caught. The latter option offered a possible solution. So, he lay on top of the clothing, scarcely able to breathe, as others threw layers of items on top of him. 

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Eventually soldiers loaded the pile of clothes into a truck and dumped them outside the camp gates. Once outside, my grandfather hid in a chimney for about 10 days, leaving only at night to fetch water. 

One night, he overheard soldiers say that prisoners would be transferred to another camp. When he heard trucks rumbling, he left his hiding place and joined a large group outside. Soldiers counted one more prisoner than they had expected – but could not identify the additional one. When their commander yelled at the soldiers for stalling, they loaded all the prisoners onto the trucks. 

My grandfather felt tremendous relief. He had avoided almost certain death and was liberated when World War II ended. 

My grandfather, who died earlier this century, endured traumas I can scarcely comprehend. For example, he had to escort children, including his own sister, to the gas chamber at Auschwitz. "I’ll never forget that," he told an interviewer in 1997, wiping away tears.  

My grandfather’s story, however remarkable, is one among many. Like many Holocaust survivors, he remained amazed that he lived through it even late in life. Referring to his sister’s death, he solemnly turned to the interviewer: "But here I am." 

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And here I am, too, as well as the rest of my family. We would not be alive without my grandfather’s resilience and hope. 

"Our most sacred task now is ensuring that the memory of this greatest of human tragedies, the Holocaust, never fades; that its lessons are not forgotten," as Reagan put it in a 1983 address to Jewish American survivors, "that its significance is not lost on this generation or any future generation." 

My grandfather, like the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, is no longer around. But I am. And to heed Reagan’s call that day, I hope I am "their vessel of remembrance" by penning this piece. 

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Holocaust survivor Benjamin Samuelson escaped Auschwitz and hid in a chimney for 10 days to escape from the Germans. 

In this time of distorted truth, it is important to ensure that younger generations know the real truth. As tragic as they can be, we must continue to share and consume Holocaust stories, lest the struggles of my grandfather, and millions of others, be forgotten. As the mantra concerning genocides goes: "never again."  

I hope that telling these stories help future generations understand what really happened, honor the lives lost, and ultimately, ensure we stand by those words: Never again.