Holocaust Survivor Breaks Silence to Fight Rising Hate

For most of his life, Lex Silbiger rarely talked about the year his family spent fleeing Nazi persecution across Europe. But when he saw genocide repeating in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Sudan, and antisemitism rising even in America, the 90-year-old knew it was time to speak up.

On February 12, Silbiger packed Turner Theatre at Elon University to share his remarkable survival story. The event was part of a nine-year tradition bringing Holocaust survivors to campus, helping students understand history through the voices of those who lived it.

Silbiger was just five years old in May 1940 when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands. At first, Dutch Jews felt a false sense of security, believing their centuries-long contributions to the nation would protect them. That hope quickly faded.

One morning, his mother woke him with surprising news: they were taking "a trip to the country." The family sneaked across the Belgian border, beginning a year-long journey that would take them through France, Spain, and eventually to a refugee camp in Jamaica. His father hid diamonds in an old smoking pipe to fund their escape.

The family survived, eventually settling in Curaçao after the war ended. But when they returned to Holland, their home had been gutted. Silbiger's grandparents, who had lived just blocks away, had been murdered at a concentration camp in Poland.

"The thoughts of their last days and final moments continue to haunt me," Silbiger told the audience.

Why This Inspires: Silbiger's decision to share his story shows the power of speaking up when it matters most. Student Benji Stern, who introduced Silbiger, described visiting concentration camps and reciting the Mourner's Kaddish prayer with fellow students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, standing together in remembrance.

"That collective act of remembrance reminds us that we're all connected," Stern said. The moment captured exactly why Silbiger's message resonates: remembering together helps prevent history from repeating.

After immigrating to America and becoming a professor at Duke University, Silbiger wrote a memoir titled "Our Great Escape" to document his family's flight. Now he travels to universities, ensuring young people understand what hatred can do when left unchecked.

His story reminds us that survivors carry these memories not just as history, but as warnings and wisdom for future generations willing to listen.