In the face of those who refuse to see our humanity, I choose to imagine that we are humane enough to believe in theirs
My grandmother, Holocaust survivor Olga Horak OAM, passed away in August 2024 just days after her 98th birthday. Just one week before, she attended her great-granddaughter’s Jewish day school to share her remarkable story of survival with the Year 6 students. Her parting message was simple: “Never forget. Don’t hate.” Although she could no longer stand up straight, in her decades-long commitment to Holocaust education as a volunteer at the Sydney Jewish Museum, she was indefatigable until the end.
When she died, we lost an empire of knowledge. Just as we do whenever we lose a survivor. Her strength of character, her disarming candour, her twinkly eyes, her testimony and her light have secreted themselves in the hearts of the thousands of people she touched, like little mirrors reflecting flashes of her life. A giant photo mosaic.
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