Today the World Lost a Great Soul

Chdamn's Wife

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Today, one of my heroes, at the age of 90, passed away. She was my friend, my former Hebrew School Principal, and a Holocaust survivor. She had battled cancer for the last decade.

During her time as Principal of the Hebrew school, she would come in to our class to share her Holocaust experience with us. Each year, as we got older, she told us a little more and a little more, being careful not to give us nightmares. I remember that the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. We hung on her every word. We asked questions trying to understand the “why” behind it all.

She had absolutely no reason to be alive. Had it not been for the fast thinking and courage of some total strangers (one who never made it out of the camp and the other who moved to Israel but died before she could meet her), she would have died at the age 14.

She came down with typhus in the camp and was sent to the barrack where they put the sick. Once that barrack was full anyone in it was taken out and shot. She was delirious with a high fever. A man and woman who happened to be walking by spotted her. She stood out because she was so young.

If I remember correctly, they were changing guards so they had a brief moment where the barrack was not being watched. They ran in placed her in a bucket and covered her with trash and whatever they could find. She passed out at that point. When she woke up the barrack was empty. She was able to sneak out and return to her barrack. She convinced a guard to let her rest and she was able to recover enough to keep going.

Later, in life, when I became a teacher, she came down to share her story with my students. What touched me the most was their reaction. They lined up because they wanted her autograph and to give her a hug. So many expressed how sorry they were and wrote her letters afterward. She had made a lasting impression on them, for sure. Harriet had that effect on people.

She has taught me many things over the years, either through her spoken words or through her actions. I’d like to share just a few:

Find and appreciate beauty even in the ugliest of places.

Be kind to others. It takes a lot more effort to hate than it does to be kind

Appreciate every moment you have with your family. Life is precious.

There are good people in this world. You may find them when you least expect it.

Moving on does not mean forgetting. It means living your best life despite what you have been through.

And finally, you are stronger than you think you are.

If you have a pour of whiskey, a bottle of beer, or glass of wine, please join me in raising it. Cheers to you, Harriet Steinhorn-Roth, for a life well-lived and for the lasting impact you had on so many others.
 
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend Amy.
 
Harriet really was a beautiful soul. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her when she came to visit and sincerely appreciated her telling of the events in her life.
 
We need to hear more from people like her so we never forget and not the idiots we have to listen to everyday. I did a term paper on the Holocaust when I was in high school. Some things you really don't want to know.
 
Thank you for letting us get to know your friend a little bit. I wished I had blessed to be able to meet her.

I'm sorry for her passing.
 
Sorry to hear of your loss..... Thanks for taking time to tell us a bit of her story, and honor her here..
 
Sorry for your loss, Amy. I would have loved to hear her stories. You can learn a lot from old people. But, it's getting harder for me to find them anymore.
 
Sorry for your loss. I wish there were more educators like her in the world. She passed on some very important lessons.
 
People like her that have such an impact on so many lives are never "gone". They continue to live on in the hearts and memories of those like you who knew her. Keep her memory alive by sharing her story with others. She gave you so much love and knowledge to share as her gift to you. Bless you.
 
Sorry for your loss.
One of the most touching moment in my life is on my trips to DC, I visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum and listen to the survivors stories.
 
We need to hear more from people like her so we never forget and not the idiots we have to listen to everyday. I did a term paper on the Holocaust when I was in high school. Some things you really don't want to know.

Agreed, but sadly, there are becoming fewer and fewer survivors to do so. I have been fortunate enough to see many survivors speak. They all have one thing in common: there is absolutely no reason why they should be alive, and had escaped death by just some freak coincident.
 
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Sorry for your loss, but also the loss to the world.
These Holocaust survivors and WW2 vets are dying off so quickly, it's a shame.
We need to spend the time we can speaking with them, getting their stories.
 
A long time friend and co-worker had an older friend with the numbers tattooed on his arm from his stay in the camps.

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.
 
Did she contribute her story to the Shoah Foundation?

That’s a good question. She did not used to like being videotaped. But I believe that changed in recent years because I saw her vide of her sharing her story on you tube. So I am not certain as to whether she ever recorded with the Shoah Foundation or not. I’ll see if I can find out.
 
Sorry to hear this news Amy. There's not many left from that era.
 
A long time friend and co-worker had an older friend with the numbers tattooed on his arm from his stay in the camps.

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.

Harriet did not have a tattoo. She was given a number but never had it tattooed on her arm. She would not share that number because she said it did not have any meaning to her. It was not who she was.
 
When I was age 12 or so I studied photography under a man who also bore one of the camp tattoos on his arm. Never once did he speak of his past, I only learned more about him after he passed away some 10 years later. I regret not really knowing who he was and what he had experienced- I just remember that he was kind and generous to a little dweeb like me despite being 60+ years older.
 
Sorry for your friends passing. I can’t even imagine the horrors she had to endure at the hands of true monsters. To think there are many who don’t even believe the holocaust happened and many more in our own country, even in congress and senate who are anti Semitic.
 
That was as fine a eulogy as anyone could hope for. I wish I'd had a chance to meet her and hear her stories.Thanks for giving us a brief insight into her life and character.

My condolonces for your loss.
 
Such a courageous and noble lady.
So sorry for your loss...
My life too was touched by a Holocaust Survivor. In the 1950's my earliest memories ( age 5) are of my family doctor an Austrian Jew and surgeon who after being imprisoned was subjected to terrible torture at the hands of the Nazis. He was accused of treating and performing surgery on " Arian " patients. As punishment the first joint of ALL of his fingers were amputated. With the exception of his sister, he lost his entire family. Shortly after the liberation of his camp he was transferred to an Allied hospital, eventually making his way to the US where he eventually re-established his medical practice. Hewas a great man!
 
Rest in peace Ms. Harriet. Reunited with the tens of thousands of Americans, British, and others who gave their lives for freedom.
 
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