Over 500 students gathered last week to hear the riveting words of a survivor of the Holocaust, Dr. Moshe Avital.

They listened intently as Dr. Avital described being sent to Auschwitz at age 14, where his parents, brothers, and sisters were all murdered. Dr. Avital spent the rest of the war in six different concentration camps, and was liberated from Buchenwald with Elie Wiesel and other teenage victims of the Holocaust.

Dr. Avital wove historical context into his story, giving even greater impact to his personal tragedy in the midst of the Nazi conquest of Europe. He is the author of a number of books on the Holocaust, many highlighting the courage of its victims. These books may be borrowed from the Teaneck High School library.

Students crowded around Dr. Avital after his speech, thanking him for sharing his story with them and expressing their understanding that they will probably be the last generation to hear direct testimony from survivors of the Holocaust, an event which took place almost 80 years ago.