A Holocaust survivor touched a hollow tree trunk that he brought from Europe and told a spellbound audience in Israel on Monday: “It saved my life.”
Polish-born Jakob Silberstein, presented the tree to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.
Silberstein, now 83, found shelter in the hollow tree in a yard and chose it as a possible hiding place should he be discovered during hiding.
As the German troops were conducting one final search for Jews, Silberstein bolted for the tree.
“It was so cramped in the tree, I was in there for nine hours and my heart was pounding, my whole body was trembling and I was sure that if the soldiers had come close to the tree they would have heard my breathing,” he said.
“Towards the end I was so frightened but I didn’t want to die in the tree. I feared that they might cut me up with a saw in the tree or shoot me,” he added.
(Source: Reuters)
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4 Responses
This tree got a big zechus..
why did he wait so long to tell the world of his miracle?
apple, maybe he only now acquired the tree. Maybe the fact that he’s 83 and he realizes his life is waning. Maybe he told a grandchild the story and they gave him the idea to donate the tree. What difference does it make why he donated the tree now?
This story is unbelievable a real TREEt!