Going back: Holocaust survivor returning to Auschwitz for 70th anniversary

Miriam Friedman Ziegler was only nine years-old when an army photographer captured a historic moment of her and 12 other children watching the Red Army arrive to liberate them. Ahead of the 70th anniversary of that day, Friedman Ziegler, 79, is planning to return to the former Nazi death camp that became the symbol of the Holocaust, which resulted in the systematic deaths of six million Jews. Friedman Ziegler, who lives in Ontario, Canada is among about 100 survivors who are returning to Poland this week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

I swore I would never go back to Poland, but I feel it’s my duty now to do it. I was lucky enough to live. I want the world to know.

Miriam Friedman Ziegler

A new photo will be taken when she reunites with four of the girls, now women in their 70s and 80s, who were also present in that iconic photograph at a hotel in Krakow — the emotions of having the photo taken at the nearby camp too overwhelming. After Auschwitz, Friedman Ziegler spent time in various hospitals and orphanages in eastern Europe. Eventually, she came to Canada as part of a group of 1,000 child refugees. She has rarely spoken about what happened during the Holocaust, even with her family. The interviews and media attention has worn Friedman Ziegler down. She’s emotional and ready to move on, but believes it is her duty to talk.

World