Holocaust survivor talks with U.P. residents about race and diversity
HOUGHTON — Freezing, starving and miles from home. One woman is sharing her experiences during the Holocaust to encourage others to be more accepting of diversity.
They say those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Holocaust Survivor and author Irene Miller spoke to a packed house at Temple Jacob in Hancock Wednesday about the need for tolerance and the acceptance of diversity.
Miller said, “My life is an example of what happened and what can happen unless we learn to respect people of different religions, different skin color and so on.” Miller described what her life was like during World War II after the Nazis invaded Poland.
She was just a child when her family fled Poland, were taken to a Siberian labor camp and then stuffed into a cramped orphanage in Uzbekistan.
Miller wrote about her experiences in her 2012 book ‘Into No Man’s Land’ and she has heard how the story has impacted and inspired others.
Miller said, “But the most important things is hopefully affect people, how they think about race, how they think about religion and, in essence, how they are open to be inclusive of all good people. It doesn’t matter what else, lifestyle and so on, as long as they are good human beings.”
Miller’s book ‘Into No Man’s Land’ is available through Amazon.