The happenings of World War II and The Holocaust are an entire lifetime ago – it’s been 80 years since the world descended into hatred and madness.
Those lucky enough to survive, have grown from children to old men and women with families of their own. But time doesn’t always equate to healing. WWII might be 80 years in the past, but its impact is still being felt in the present.
The Holocaust impacted generations of Jewish families by forcing them apart. While many families totally lost their loved ones and their legacies, others were left wondering what had happened to their relatives and, often, assumed the worst.
That is exactly what happened in the case of Jewish cousins Morris Sana and Simon Mairowitz. The pair, from Romania, grew up the best of friends but were torn apart when a fascist coup in 1940 allied the Romanian government with Nazi Germany.
For 75-years, they believed that the other had died – until they got to reunite as old men.
The video of the pairs’ reunion is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking.
According to The Telegraph, Morris fled to Israel where he settled down, and Simon found refuge in the United Kingdom – hence their noticeably different accents in the video.
It was only when Morris’ daughter began conducting research that she was able to track down some relatives through social media and come to the realisation that both of the cousins had survived the atrocities of The Holocaust.
Sharing the video to Facebook, Morris’ granddaughter Leetal Ofer wrote:
“This is one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen and I’d love to share it with you. My mom recently found some of her long lost cousins on Facebook. To make a long story short… My grandfather couldn’t find his cousin and best friend after the Holocaust and was sure that he was killed at the concentration camps. He hasn’t seen or heard from his cousin in 75 years. We were able to arrange for the cousins to meet today. The war tore so many families apart and to bring them together in Israel is so magical.”
Magical, indeed. And a gentle reminder that we can never let history repeat itself.