Joseph Alexander still vividly remembers the horrific things he saw and experienced at Nazi concentration camps more than 80 years ago.
Alexander, one of the few survivors of the Holocaust, says he went by No. 142584 instead of his name as he rolls up his sleeve to show the tattooed number on his arm.
“I had to watch people being [hanged,]” explains Alexander, who was in three camps. “I saw people being beaten to death because they gave up. They couldn’t take it anymore.”
The survivor says he wishes he had information about his family members who were separated during the Holocaust.
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“I left my parents, two sisters and one brother in the Warsaw ghetto. Until today, I don’t know what happened to them,” Alexander explains.
As he continues to share his harrowing tale, the 101-year-old says he’s alarmed by a spike in antisemitism across the U.S.
“That’s how it started in Germany.”
The Anti-Defamation League said in its latest report that there were more than 8,800 antisemitic incidents in 2023 alone – a historic level on record.
Alexander, who thinks the only way to stop hate is through education, wishes kindness will prevail.
“My hope for the future is that all this crazy stuff going on will stop. And that people will live a normal life,” he said.
