The story of a Holocaust survivor who became a TikTok star at the age of 85

Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman is a TikTok star at 85, thanks to her 17-year-old grandson.

In the living room of his home in Morristown, New Jersey, the young man records short videos of his grandmother remembering life in 1944 and 1945, as a 6-year-old girl in the Auschwitz death camp and Poland was occupied by the Nazis. She also talks about her experiences before and after camp.

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His videos carry 75 million views since they began publishing them in September 2021.

“It really snowballed,” Friedman said. “And then we realized that it was a great medium for the Holocaust, for young people who don’t want to read books, who do not like how they are taught at school, who are bored with the subject, or some who have never heard of it. here they are listening”.

His grandson, Aron Goodman, said his most viewed videos are “those who show the number”the identification tattooed on the arms of prisoners at Auschwitz.

Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, 85, prepares to record a TikTok video with her grandson, Aron Goodman, 17, in Morristown, New Jersey. (Ted Shaffrey-AP).

A lot of people “really can’t get the opportunity to see a survivor, to see the history on their arm,” Goodman said. “So, social networks and TikTok are the way we deliver our message and show the evidence of the Holocaust that people unfairly deny”.

People commenting on the videos thank Friedman for posting their memories, and many point out that they had learned little—or nothing—about the Holocaust in school.

Goodman said he makes the videos for countering antisemitic discourse on the internet and to educate the TikTok generation about the horrors of the Holocaust.

“We have to focus on history and warn people where hate can lead if it goes unchecked, if nobody does anything about it,” the high school student said.

One of the videos shows black-and-white footage of Friedman with other Jewish children in early 1945, as she rolls up her sleeve to reveal the number tattooed on her arm. The film was shot by the Soviet Army a week after they liberated the camp.

Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, 85, prepares to record a TikTok video with her grandson, Aron Goodman, 17, in Morristown, New Jersey. (Ted Shaffrey-AP)

When Friedman looks at the image, he is reminded of his mother, who taught him how to survive in the field. avoiding eye contact with the guards and hiding among dead bodies. His mother suffered from depression after the war and died at the age of 40.

Friedman says that people often ask him how could he trust or love people after what he witnessed. Friedman who saw many other Holocaust survivors who lost their families in the camps remarry and have more children, what at the time was called “replacement children”.

“Life is resilient, and it can be lived again”, said Friedman, who works as a therapist and social worker and wrote a book about her experiences called “The Daughter of Auschwitz.” “This is what I would like people to know. It is the hope that humanity can rebuild itself.

Source: Elcomercio