SJAFB remembers Holocaust with walk and presentation
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on May 5, 2016 2:03 PM
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base welcomed Morris Glass, a Holocaust survivor, to its annual Holocaust Remembrance Lunch at Heritage Hall Wednesday.
Glass, 88, was a young boy in Poland when the German army occupied the country in 1939. From the age of 13, Glass was forced to manufacture goods for the German army while living in a Jewish ghetto. People died around him every day from hunger and disease, but Glass said that the community was kept together by strong family bonds and their "incredible faith."
Those family bonds were taken from Glass in 1944, when his community was collectively rounded up and sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. Glass said that, upon entering, the captives were separated by gender; men to the left, women to the right. With tears in his eyes, Glass recalled the moment when he was separated from his mother and two sisters.
"They waved to me, I waved back. And I never saw them again." he said.
Glass, then just a skinny boy, only escaped death because the bulky fur coat he was wearing made him look more able-bodied than he actually was. He said that most of the children and elderly were immediately sent to the gas chambers, as they would not be able to work.
Together with his father, Glass was later transferred to the Dachau concentration camp. His father soon grew ill and unable to work, and was eventually executed by the Nazis. Glass said that he watched the SS Stormtroopers pull teeth from his father's body to take his gold fillings.
Glass eventually escaped from the Nazis during a storm while on a forced march. He found safe haven with a Christian convent until, on April 28, 1945, he saw the first American tank roll over the hills. His nightmare, at least in this sense, was over.
Now, 77 years later, Glass cannot find it in himself to hate those who hurt him. He is one of just two people in his extended family, which numbered over 40, to have survived, but he remains committed to living a life of love. Glass is now a father of seven, with grandchildren in the double-digits, a decision he said helped to rebuild the family he lost.
Glass, who lives in Raleigh, feels immensely proud to be an American citizen. Having been saved from the Nazis by the American military, he said he felt privileged to speak to the airmen who attended the lunch, and thanked them for giving him the chance to live a long and fulfilling live.
Glass said that, despite growing racial and religious tensions which in some ways mirror those that preceded the Holocaust, he still believes that the world is headed for a bright future.
"I still have hope." he said. "I never gave up hope in the camps, I've never given up hope in my entire life. Once we get past the hate, we're going to be okay."
Later that afternoon, around 30 airmen lead by Chaplain Dwayne Keener and Senior Master Sgt. Donald Peckatt II took part in a two mile remembrance walk to reflect and honor those who were lost.