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The Holocaust : The First Survivor Story Of The Holocaust

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In today's world we are aware of the Holocaust because of what we are told. Therefore, it is the personal accounts and stories that help us to better understand the experience. Looking into survivors’ stories, I’ve come to realize how something can be so similar yet so different. In saying this I mean that each individual has experienced equivalence during the Holocaust, but dealt with and survived it all their own.
The first survivor story that I learned about is that of Irene Fogel. The struggle began for her at eight years old, when she and her family became part of Hungary. As the Hungarians were allies of the Nazis, it a was disastrous time for Jewish families. Her father’s business was seized, not compensated for, and given to a non-Jew. Fogel states, “we couldn't ride the trains and we had to wear the yellow star. It was a free for all” (Fogel par 2). This description allows people today to better understand the humiliation and discriminatory actions taken against the Jewish community. As they were forced to wear a demeaning symbol and banned from boarding the trains; the Nazis were dehumanizing the Jewish community. In spite of this, Fogel and her family found comfort in being in their home together. This comfort was soon overran as Hungary was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1944. It was at this time that she and her family were taken to the ghetto and then onto cattle cars transporting to Auschwitz. Fogel’s mother hurriedly packed a suitcase full of food, clothing, and

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