Survivor, Shimshon Fuhrer, Talks to BIU Students

On the eve of Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), many of BIU’s students benefited from the unique opportunity of hearing from Shimshon Fuhrer, a Holocaust survivor, who shared his and his family’s story of the war.

Shimshon relayed his experiences to a captivated audience on Zoom – his time as a young child in Romania, how his family was forced out of their home and taken to Ukraine, his experiences during the war, the journey to Israel, and the present living as a proud citizen of Israel with the older and newer generations of his family.

Shimshon was one of the lucky ones; his entire family survived, although there were many times when he thought they wouldn’t. After everything he and his family went through, Shimshon holds no anger or bitterness. He knows only too well what went on during the Shoah, but he chose to focus on his future and his new life in Israel with his family.

He ended his testimony by saying, “It’s not only to testify about the Holocaust. It’s to see the meaning, to see what you learn from the Holocaust… What we should do about the Holocaust and these meetings is to show how it changed us.”

During these difficult times and with the social isolation imposed on all of us and our students (many of whom live on campus), it is more important than ever to connect them to the national events of the State of Israel, to commemorate Yom Hashoah, and to share with them the encouragement and inspiration of larger-than-life people.

Everyone was incredibly moved after hearing Shimshon’s story and finding out about his enormous extended family, which thrives in Israel today despite everything, and we thank him for sharing it with us.

Click here to listen to Shimshon’s story.