Beyond question, one of the greatest evils in human history was the Holocaust — the evil plan by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi henchmen to exterminate the Jews of Europe.
The horrors suffered by Jewish people during the Holocaust, while well known, are almost beyond comprehension. They were:
- Robbed of their homes, businesses, and possessions, with no compensation
- Stripped of their citizenship and freedoms
- Forced to live in terrible conditions in work camps or sealed ghettos across Europe, then later herded onto trains for transport to concentration and extermination camps
- Starved, tortured, worked to death, and executed in concentration camps
In all, an estimated 6 million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis — 3 out of 5 Jews in Europe.
And the only crime they committed was being Jewish.
Today, 72 years after World War II, about half a million Holocaust survivors are still alive worldwide, including those who fled Nazi Germany. About 100,000 of those are men and women who actually survived the camps and ghettos, or hid from the Nazis.
Today the average age of a Jewish Holocaust survivor is 88. Many suffer from the common problems of old age: failing health, loneliness, and isolation — especially since many have no remaining family members.
But many also still suffer from the damage done by years of malnourishment, overwork, and even torture under the Nazis. In 2016, about 1 in 4 of the 180,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel struggled to survive below the poverty line. They’re dying at the rate of 13,000 per year.
We’ve met some who are so poor, they’re forced to get by on nothing but scrounged raw vegetables and powdered soup. Others must sleep in two coats because they’re unable to pay for heat in the winter. And many find themselves unable to afford eyeglasses, dental care, or other basics.
These dear Jewish men and women suffered more than we can imagine. It’s appalling and embarrassing that they now must continue to suffer in poverty.
That’s why, with your help, Jewish Voice Ministries is doing all we can to help!
Working with partner agencies in Israel, Jewish Voice is providing Holocaust survivors with eye care, glasses, dental care, and dentures -- significant needs which, because of their high cost in Israel, often go unmet. But you can help meet these needs with your gift today:
- The average cost of eye care is just $25 per person
- The average cost of dental care is about $800
- And in addition to our special concern for Holocaust survivors, your support of Jewish Voice also helps other elderly and impoverished Israelis who need our help
Our special focus in Israel will continue to be Holocaust survivors.
You see, remembering the Holocaust is important. In a 2015 study by the Pew Foundation in the United States, three-quarters of Jewish people surveyed said remembering the Holocaust was “essential to their sense of Jewishness.” This ranked the idea of remembering the Holocaust as more important than any other factor to the Jewish people.
So we must remember the horror that was the Holocaust, if only to ensure that the world doesn’t repeat it. And the best way to remember is to cherish and preserve those who lived in and through those terrible times.
Won’t you help give these survivors the respect and dignity they deserve, as so many of them approach the end of their lives?
Won’t you join with Jewish Voice to bring healing and comfort to these dear people in their final years?
Your generous contribution right now will help these Jewish men and women know they have not been forgotten. You can help relieve the suffering for those who have known far too much suffering in the past.
If you can help right now, I want to send you one or more special gifts — as our way of saying thank you for your compassionate support:
- For your gift of any amount, you’ll receive our special Holocaust Remembrance Pin. Inscribed with the Hebrew word Yizkor (“Remember”), this metal pin will affirm your commitment to remember the millions who suffered and died at Nazi hands.
The motif of budding life from barbed wire honors how the Jewish spirit transformed one of history’s greatest tragedies into one of its greatest miracles — the rebirth of the Nation of Israel in the Promised Land.
- For your gift of $30 or more, you’ll receive the Holocaust Remembrance Pin, plus the book Trapped in Hitler’s Hell. This book tells the story of Anita Dittman, who, as a little girl raised by a Jewish mother, came to believe in Yeshua just as Nazism took control of Europe. Anita had to fight for survival, even as she grew in her love for Yeshua. It’s an extraordinary account of courage and trust in the face of evil.
- For your gift of $60 or more, you’ll receive the Holocaust Remembrance Pin, the book Trapped in Hitler’s Hell, PLUS the DVD version of Trapped in Hitler’s Hell to make it easy to share this powerful story with your family and friends.
And you have one more special reason to respond now to help Jewish Holocaust survivors living in Israel . . .
Just a few days from now — from sundown on April 23, through sundown on April 24 — we’ll observe Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s the time every year when Jewish people, and we Believers in Yeshua who care about them, stop and remember the suffering and sacrifice of so many who died at the hands of the Nazis.
Won’t you join in this Yom HaShoah remembrance by sending the most generous gift you can right now to help suffering Holocaust survivors in Israel?
