Students in grades 4-6 at Centre Avenue Elementary School learned firsthand about a profound moment in history on Jan. 29 when they met Holocaust survivor Arnold Newfield, who visited from the Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College.

Mr. Newfield shared his family's harrowing journey of survival, beginning in 1938 when they fled Austria for the Netherlands. Born in 1942 in Westerbork – a transit camp – Mr. Newfield's earliest years were marked by unimaginable circumstances. When he was just three years old, Nazi forces separated his family: he, his mother, and two older brothers were sent to Ravensbrück, while his father was deported to Buchenwald. Before their separation, his parents made a vow to each other: they would reunite in the Netherlands.

Throughout his presentation, Mr. Newfield emphasized his mother's extraordinary strength and courage. He recounted a particularly moving moment when he was separated from her during transport. Upon learning where her son had been taken, his mother approached a female guard with unwavering determination. She didn't plead or ask – she stated definitively, I am here to retrieve my son. The guard, moved by this mother's resolve, made a deal to help them. She fired shots over his mother's head to make it appear she had tried to stop her, then whispered that she would reunite mother and son.

Against overwhelming odds, the Newfield family achieved what so many could not: they all survived the concentration camps. After the war ended, they returned to the Netherlands and were miraculously reunited with Mr. Newfield's father. In 1947, the family emigrated to the United States, settling on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

The Centre Avenue students, who have been studying the Holocaust in their classes, listened with visible awe and respect. Following Mr. Newfield's presentation, they asked thoughtful, insightful questions and presented him with handmade thank-you cards.

Mr. Newfield left the students with three pieces of wisdom to carry forward. First, he urged them to not live a life of anger. He also encouraged them to ask their parents and grandparents questions, reminding them that everyone has a story worth listening to. Finally, he stressed the importance of voting when they turn 18, explaining that this is how they can have a voice in shaping their own futures.

The visit gave Centre Avenue students an unforgettable opportunity to hear directly from someone who survived one of history's darkest periods – a lesson in both the cruelty people are capable of and the incredible strength of the human spirit.