TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Bertie Levkowitz was three months old when her parents made the difficult decision to hand her over to a stranger in order to save her life.
“My parents were like this, you know, where can we go? And they did find an incredible man who saved my parents, who was willing to hide my parents," said Levkowitz, "But he lived in an apartment. And that would not have worked with a crying three-month-old baby.”
Living in Nazi-occupied Holland, Levkowitz's childhood involved more than 40 different addresses as her family sought to hide her over the course of three-and-a-half years.
"I think maybe one of the key things is that as you grew up, your life was divided into, sort of, before the war life that your parents talked about but you couldn't visualize, and after the war," said Levkowitz.
Chabad Tucson is hosting a Shabbat event this Friday, Jan. 26.
At the dinner, Levkowitz will share her story. Her story taught her many things, with one thing in particular she always shares:
"We somehow have to continue to try to fight hatred and prejudice, because they're really evil things. And we have to find a way to live and let live," said Levkowitz.
Registration for the event is required and you can do so at Chabad Tucson's website.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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