Daughter Shares Father's Holocaust Story After 13 Years

For most of her life, Bea Lurie knew her father survived the Holocaust, but she didn't know the full story of the hell he endured.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Lurie watched her father Sol wake up screaming from nightmares night after night. No one talked about what caused them. The tension hung over their home like a dark cloud, but the details remained buried.

It wasn't until Lurie turned 44 that her father finally opened up. Sol had survived six concentration camps across three countries between the ages of 11 and 15 in Kovno, Lithuania. The trauma was so deep that both father and daughter had built walls to protect themselves from the pain.

When Sol asked his daughter to help share his story, she agreed, though it took 13 years to complete. "I did a great job of avoidance for many years, because you start writing some of these things, and it's kind of hard to believe that they're coming out of your fingertips," Lurie said.

The book, "Life Must Go On," co-authored by Dr. Stephen Leonard Jacobs, has now reached readers as far as Australia. Sol's story includes serving in the German military during the Korean War despite not yet being a U.S. citizen, insisting they let him join the cause.

Today marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 81 years since Auschwitz was liberated. Sol Lurie is one of fewer than 200,000 Holocaust survivors still alive worldwide.

The Ripple Effect

Now 95 and living with Alzheimer's and dementia, Sol still sings with his family and caregiver at his bedside. His impact extends far beyond his immediate family. He has received more than 10,000 letters from students and faculty members whose lives he's touched through speaking engagements.

Bea Lurie spent over 20 years in Chattanooga, where she led Girls Inc., serving 40,000 girls across Hamilton and Marion Counties. She also started Women Repair Zone, teaching practical skills like home repair and auto maintenance. Her work embodies the resilience her father modeled.

Members of First-Centenary United Methodist Church have become allies in fighting antisemitism, putting up signs and listening to Lurie's presentations. She believes speaking out matters more than ever. "History doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes," she warns.

Sol's story stands as proof that even after unimaginable darkness, life truly can go on.