Friday marks the end of one earth’s darkest chapters. 72 years ago the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp.
Countries now recognize January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
One Boca Raton woman’s unlikely friendship motivates her to prevent the next genocide.
Linda Rosenkranz has shared many happy moments with her "sister,” Ruth.
“I was her maid of honor,” said Rosenkranz, thumbing through a photo album.
They call each other sisters, but they come from very different backgrounds.
As a child, Ruth survived the Holocaust. She was at Auschwitz concentration camp when the Germans were defeated 72 years ago.
Rosenkranz grew up in New York City. She first connected with Ruth via letters written in Yiddish as part of a school pen pal project.
After five years of writing, the two girls finally met.
A simple grade school assignment taught Rosenkranz more than any textbook could. Now she's dedicated her life to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; encouraging her husband to do the same.
“She's a very motivating person,” said Jay Rosenkranz. “And she does do good and it's very easy to do good with her.”
The Rosenkranzs will reunite with Ruth at a fundraiser they've helped organize Monday in Boca Raton for the Washington DC-based museum.
It was Ruth's early letters that inspired Rosenkranz to speak up about the horrors of the past.
“We can’t forget it, I think we have to learn from it and we have to learn to be tolerant,” she said. “And hopefully there will be peace.”
Peace would be the happiest moment in this unique sisterhood.
For information about Monday’s “What You Do Matters” luncheon benefiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, call 561-995-6773. Tickets are limited.
To support the efforts of the museum, click here.
Click hereto learn more about the work the museum does in South Florida.
To attend the Museum's free public programs in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties next month, register online here for Broward or here for Miami.