LAS VEGAS - More than seven decades have passed since one of history's most horrific events – the Holocaust - began. Lydia Lebovic is a Holocaust survivor.
"Before you get into Auschwitz, you don't know anything at all - where you're going, what's going to happen. So, every step is a miracle, is a novelty, and every step is fear," she said. "We didn't know what selection line is. We learned that selection line was you were selected for life or death."
Although she survived the Holocaust, Lydia's mother and younger sister did not. Since then, she has made it her mission to teach others about the horrors that she and millions of others faced during that dark period in history.
"In just meeting Lydia, our whole family was touched by her - to see someone who has been through such tragedy and then to return her story back with complete love," said Shaa Stewart.
For more than a decade, she's visited schools across the valley. She shares her story with students ranging from 5th grade to high school. Lydia teaches a very important message.
"There's a lot of people in sixth grade who don't know what the Holocaust is, and so sometimes I tell them a little bit, pieces of her story," said 6th grader Natalie Stewart.
"I always say my most effective day of teaching is when she comes in. All I do is say, ‘Boys and girls, Mrs. Lebovic,'" said 5th grade teacher Mitchell Kalin. "Kids and parents come back year after year to see her who have already heard her, but they wanted to be around her. That's the effect she has. I think that says it all."
Many students say that effect will last them a lifetime.
"After she came and talked, I have a desire to learn more about history," said previous student Amelia Turner. "Just by her speaking, it means so much to me."
At the end of April, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary. Inside the museum is a picture of Lydia being led into Auschwitz. With her health recently deteriorating, it's become even more crucial for her to visit the museum one more time.
8 News NOW is helping her do that and rewarding her efforts by giving Lydia $800 as part of its weekly series Acts of Kindness.
If you have someone you want to nominate for Acts of Kindness, visit our website or e-mail us.
