One woman who survived the Holocaust is now using social media to educate young people with the help of her grandson.
Tova Friedman, 85, gained TikTok popularity after her grandson, Aron Goodman, 17, began recording “short videos” of her discussing her life from 1944 and 1945, according to ABC News. During that time, Friedman was a 6-year-old girl living in Poland and was taken prisoner in an Auschwitz death camp by Nazis.
“It really snowballed,” Friedman told ABC News. “And then we realized it was a fabulous medium for the Holocaust, for young people who don’t want to read the books, who don’t like the classes in school, who don’t like the way the teachers teach or whatever, who are bored with it, or some who never heard of it. Here they are, listening.”
The pair started posting the videos in 2021 and have since gained over 75 million views.
Goodman revealed the videos where they have gotten the most views are “ones that show her number” which was tattooed on prisoners’ arms to identify them while in Auschwitz.
“People around the world can’t really get the chance to see a survivor, to see the history on their arm,” he explained. “So social media and TikTok is the way we kind of impart our message and show the evidence of the Holocaust that people unrightfully deny.”
@tovafriedman #answer to @lin.dy Yes! Continue to ask questions, because we are the last generation who will grow up with survivors still alive. Ask before it’s too late. Yes, this is the video filmed on ABC NightLine #survivor #shoah #all #human #fyp #abc #nightline #tv #truth #xyzbca #truth #history #holocaust #apush #apeuro #school #speech
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On their TikTok page, Friedman posted videos where she shares facts about the Holocaust and also answers questions, like whether she met Anne Frank, who died in a concentration camp in 1945.
Goodman said his goal in making the videos is to oppose antisemitic speech online and to educate young people “about the horrors of the Holocaust.”
“We need to focus on the history and warn people where hate can lead if it’s unchecked, if no one does anything about it,” he noted.
Friedman, who is the author of the book “The Daughter of Auschwitz,”said she would “like to let people know… life is resilient, and you can live again.”
“It’s the hope that humanity can rebuild itself,” she shared.