"It's like an infected sore deep inside..."

So said Anshel Sieradzki of his memories of Auschwitz. Incredibly, Sierdzki was recently reunited with the three men who, as young boys, surrounded him in line as the were processed into the horrific death camp. Now in their 80's, the men are telling their common story as incredible survivors of unbelievable atrocities.

Tattoos From Auschwitz Horror Reunite Lost Inmates

JERUSALEM — As terrified teenagers 65 years ago, Menachem Sholowicz and Anshel Sieradzki stood in line together in Auschwitz, having serial numbers tattooed on their arms. Sholowicz was B-14594; Sieradzki was B-14595.

The two Polish Jews had never met, they never spoke and they were quickly separated. Each survived the Nazi death camp, moved to Israel, married, and became grandfathers. They didn't meet again until a few weeks ago, having stumbled upon each other through the Internet. Late in life, the two men speak daily, suddenly partners who share their darkest traumas.

"We are blood brothers," said Sieradzki, 81. "The moment I meet someone who was there with me, who went through what I went though, who saw what I saw, who felt what I felt — at that moment we are brothers."

The twist of fate doesn't end there. Two brothers who were with them in the tattooist's line have made contact since hearing of their story.

[snip]

The four survivors, with the consecutive serial numbers, are among hundreds of thousands of survivors who poured into Israel at the birth of the Jewish state. An estimated 250,000 are still alive in Israel, carrying the physical and emotional scars of that era.

"It is never forgotten, not for a moment," Sieradzki said. "It's like an infected sore deep inside that hurts every time it is exposed."

Do read the rest at the link above. We must never allow this story to be forgotten.