Dozens Gather For Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A day to remember the people who died in the Holocaust, and those who survived.
At 95, Fritzi Zbik still remembers the Holocaust like it was yesterday.
"They put us on the cattle train, and they took us to the concentration camp. It was terrible," she said.
Fritzi says the pain she suffered from the Holocaust is something nobody should have to endure.
"I lost my mother and father and two brothers in Auschwitz," she said.
Paula Spigler was just a young girl in Poland when the Holocaust changed her life forever.
"I was in the ghetto for four years. Then I was taken to a concentration camp," she said. "You saw people dropping dead from hunger, my mother died from hunger in my hands."
Paula says she had family all over Europe who perished in the Holocaust.
"I had like 17 cousins, nobody survived," she said.
On Sunday afternoon, Fritzi, Paula, a handful of other survivors, and dozens of attendees took part in a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.
She says every year, the day becomes more significant to her.
"I appreaciate every minute of being here," said Zbik.
Sarita Russ Gocial is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and the chair of the memorial committee for Six Million Jewish Martyrs.
She says, as the number of holocaust survivors dwindles, it's now her generation's job to carry on their stories.
"It's important to remember you're past so you don't repeat it," said Gocial.
During the rememberance ceremony people prayed, sang, and took part in a candle lighting ritual.
