‘We children saw things that no one should ever have to see’: Holocaust survivor at UN

A Holocaust survivor delivered a powerful reminder of the horrors of the Nazi era and the importance of compassion during a commemorative event at the United Nations, urging people across the world to stand against hatred and discrimination.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan, speaking in the UN General Assembly Hall alongside one of her great-grandchildren, recounted her family’s journey from a peaceful life in Germany to years of suffering in Nazi detention camps. Her testimony formed part of the UN’s observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Reflecting on her experience, Lazan said that even in the darkest moments, individuals still retain the power to choose how they treat others.

“How we treat, behave, and reach out to one another, that is entirely up to us,” she told the audience.

Childhood Disrupted By Anti-Jewish Laws

Lazan described how her family once lived comfortably in Hoya, a small town in northwestern Germany during the early 1930s.

Their lives changed dramatically after the Nazi government introduced the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, which stripped Jewish citizens of many basic rights. The rising persecution forced her parents to plan their departure from Germany.

The situation worsened during the violent anti-Jewish attacks of Kristallnacht in November 1938. Their home was ransacked and her father was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp.

He was released after several weeks only because the family had secured documents allowing them to emigrate to the United States.

Trapped In Nazi-Controlled Europe

In January 1939, the family left Germany for the Netherlands, hoping to continue their journey to America. Instead, their plans were shattered when Nazi Germany invaded the country in 1940.

They were sent to the Westerbork detention camp, where thousands of Jews were held while awaiting deportation.

Initially the conditions were relatively tolerable under Dutch administration. But once the Nazis took control, the camp became a transit point for deportations to extermination camps across eastern Europe.

Every week, lists were posted announcing the names of prisoners scheduled for transport. The announcements created constant fear among detainees, as families waited anxiously to see whether their names would appear.

Of the roughly 120,000 people deported from Westerbork, more than 100,000 never returned.

Life Inside Bergen-Belsen

In January 1944, Lazan and her family were deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.

She recalled arriving on a freezing winter night as a nine-year-old child, frightened by armed guards and aggressive dogs.

Hundreds of prisoners were crammed into wooden barracks designed for far fewer people. The buildings lacked heating and offered little protection against the harsh German winter.

Prisoners slept in crowded bunk beds with only a thin blanket for warmth. Food was scarce, often limited to a small portion of bread and watery soup.

The camp’s unsanitary conditions were overwhelming. Toilets offered no privacy, and there was almost no access to soap or clean water.

Bodies of those who died from disease, starvation and exhaustion were often left for long periods before they could be removed.

Lazan recalled the constant fear that dominated daily life, describing it as the most difficult emotion to endure.

Survival Through Family Strength

Throughout the ordeal, Lazan credited her survival largely to the strength and determination of her mother.

In one dangerous incident, her mother secretly brought potatoes and salt from the camp kitchen to cook a small pot of soup. When guards unexpectedly entered the barracks, the boiling soup spilled onto Lazan’s leg.

Despite the pain, the young girl remained silent because crying out could have led to severe punishment or death.

Shortly before the end of the war, prisoners from Bergen-Belsen were transported east by train toward other camps. The journey lasted two weeks without adequate food, water or medical care.

The train was eventually liberated by Soviet forces near the German village of Troibitz.

Out of the 2,500 people on board, around 500 died during the journey or soon after liberation.

Lazan herself weighed only 16 kilograms at the time. Many survivors were suffering from disease, including typhus, which later claimed the life of her father weeks after their liberation.

A New Beginning In The United States

In 1948, Lazan, her mother and brother emigrated to the United States, arriving in Hoboken, New Jersey exactly three years after their liberation.

With help from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the family settled in Peoria, Illinois and began rebuilding their lives.

Because she could not speak English, Lazan was placed in a fourth-grade classroom despite being 13 years old. She and her brother worked after school to help support their family.

Through determination and hard work, she graduated from Peoria Central High School five years later, ranking eighth in a class of 267 students.

Soon afterward she married Nathaniel Lazan and went on to build a large family.

Today she has three children, nine grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren, a legacy she describes as proof of survival and continuity.

A Call To Confront Hatred

During her address, Lazan also displayed the yellow star that Jews were forced to wear under Nazi rule, a symbol used to isolate and stigmatize them.

She urged people everywhere to reject hatred and discrimination in all forms.

“We can begin by having love, respect and compassion toward one another, regardless of religion, skin colour or national origin,” she said.

Although the world continues to face division and conflict, Lazan said individuals still have the power to choose kindness and understanding.

Her message, delivered decades after surviving one of history’s darkest chapters, was simple yet urgent: the responsibility to prevent hatred and violence lies with every generation.