Stories of Survival: A Thanksgiving Reunion

by Michelle . · 2009-11-26 12:52:00 UTC
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"And they did it only from the goodness of their heart."

Holocaust survivor Joseph Bonder had an emotional Thanksgiving reunion with the Polish man who saved his and his sister's lives by hiding them from the Nazis for two years. Bronislaw Furita arrived in New Jersey, were Bonder has lived since 1963, last night, thanks to the support of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

According to Bonder, while many Polish families hid Jews for money, Furita and his family never accepted a dime, despite the fact that their own lives would almost certainly be lost of the Nazis ever discovered the fugitive teenagers.

"I'm numb," Bonder said. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. It's once in a lifetime you can see your savior. He is my savior."

The Thanksgiving holiday is certainly fitting for such a reunion -- and, at least for me, puts everything that most of us have to be thankful for into perspective.

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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