Angel was a Jewish man who later became the owner of one of the most famous bakeries in Germany. Often, when people asked him how he survived the Holocaust, he would share this unforgettable story.
He would say:
“Do you know why I am alive today? When I was still a teenager, the Nazis were killing Jews without mercy. One day, they forced us onto a train and sent us to Auschwitz. It was winter, and the cold was unbearable.
We were packed into cattle cars with no food, no water, no beds, and no way to keep warm. The train stopped, and we were left there for days. Snow covered everything, and the freezing wind cut into our faces. The cold was so intense that it felt as if the blood in our veins had turned to ice.
Hundreds of people were trapped in those cars. Many were crying, praying, or sitting silently, waiting for death.
Next to me was an elderly man from my hometown. He was well known and deeply respected. I could see that he was very weak. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and his face had turned pale. I knew that if he stayed like that, he would not survive the night.
Without thinking of myself, I moved closer to him. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly. I rubbed his hands, his legs, his face, and his neck, trying to bring warmth back into his body. I whispered to him, begging him to stay alive. I told him he must not give up.
All night long, I kept massaging him. My fingers became numb, my own body was exhausted, and the cold burned my skin—but I did not stop. I was determined to keep him alive.
Finally, morning came. The sun rose, and light entered the train car.
When I looked around, my heart sank. All I could see were frozen bodies. Every single person in that car had died during the night—except two.
The old man was alive.
And I was alive too.
He survived because I gave him my warmth. And I survived because, in trying to save him, I kept myself moving, caring, and alive.
That is when I learned the greatest lesson of my life.
The secret of survival in this world is simple:
When you warm the hearts of others, you warm your own heart.
When you support, strengthen, and encourage others, you give yourself strength as well.
By helping someone else survive, you may just save yourself.”
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