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She Survived Hitler’s Cruelty

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As Genya sits alone in her small, single-room apartment, she often remembers the Nazi invasion of her Jewish village in Belarus.

Genya explained, “The Nazi motorcycles were so loud as they drove into the village. This was all so strange to me as a little girl, but I wasn’t afraid, yet.”    

The Nazis forced the Jewish men to put up barbed wire fencing around part of the village, turning it into a ghetto. Then the killings began.

Genya said, “They started by killing the old and the sick. Every day they piled up more dead bodies.”

Genya and her family escaped and spent the rest of the war in the Belarussian forests with resistance fighters. Years later, she got married and moved to Haifa, Israel. Now a widow, she lives in isolation and poverty.

“When my thoughts go back to that time in the ghetto, I feel a terrible physical pain. Real suffering,” said Genya.  

Knowing what Holocaust survivors live with, CBN Israel staff and volunteers regularly take her food and spend time with her. They cook meals together, and just sit and talk.  

Genya said, “The food baskets are very helpful. And to have these young people come and visit me is incredible.  We have a real connection and they speak to me delicately about spiritual things and pray for me. I really appreciate it.”

We also gave Genya a walking stick, so she’ll have an easier time getting around. Thanks to CBN donors, Genya and other Holocaust Survivors have the food they need, and genuine friends to make sure they’re okay.

Genya said, “Thank you very much for all the wonderful things you have given me and for being here for me. You have touched my soul.”

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About The Author

Isaac Gwin
Isaac
Gwin

Isaac Gwin joined Operation Blessing in 2013 as a National Media Liaison producing domestic hunger relief stories. He then moved to Israel in 2015 where he spent the next six years as a CBN Features Producer developing stories throughout the Middle East. Now back in the U.S., Isaac continues to produce inspiring, true life stories for The 700 Club.