CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - A Holocaust survivor gave a living history lesson, one overflowing with hope and fulfillment, to students at an elementary school in Coral Gables.
Charles “Charlie” Mendel is one of around 196,000 Holocaust survivors living around the world. That may sound like a high number, but 10 years from now, that will no longer be the case.
So on Wednesday morning, he spoke to students at George Washington Carver Elementary School, telling them a story few people left can still tell.
“My true reason for doing this is because there are people that actually believe that there was no Holocaust, that it never happened,” said Mendel.
As a child during World War II, Mendel was separated from his parents, forced into hiding, disguised as a girl and sheltered inside a Catholic convent, where he protected by nuns.
“You have to relive in order to tell the truth and tell what transpired. The general public, a lot of them just do not know that there was a Holocaust,” he said. “It’s been many, many years, and we need to, number one, tell the world that prejudice stinks, and number two, that it really did transpire, and we just can’t possibly let this ever happen again.”
The students who listened to Mendel have been reading “Number the Stars,” a 1989 novel by Lois Lowry about Jewish families escaping Nazi-occupied Europe.
School leaders said hearing one of these stories firsthand makes a lasting impact.
“I want them to take away his story of strength and courage, and the power of love and compassion in the midst of very, very difficult times,” said Patricia Fairlough, G.W. Carver Elementary’s principal.
This firsthand account came from a man determined to make sure his story is heard and never forgotten.
“There’s very few Holocaust survivors still alive, and we need to have the world know that this really transpired, and we never, never, ever want this to happen ever again,” said Mendel.
Mendel is a father of two, a grandfather of five and the great-grandfather of a baby boy. He said he dreams of future generations living in a world without prejudice.
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