A 19-year-old Marcel Levy was losing all hope as he awaited his premature demise at the nefarious Dachau concentration camp. That’s when the United States Army burst into the Nazi death camp and emancipated all of estimated 30,000 prisoners. One of the liberators was U.S. Army corporal Sid Shafner, who instantly developed a bond with Levy. That was 71 years ago, and now the two men from a world apart had a touching reunion.
“Everything I have today, all of my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, is due to you, Sid,” the 90-year-old Levy told Shafner.
Shafner, now 94-years-old and living in Colorado, made an emotional eight-day trip to Israel and Poland last week. Shafner, who was part of the 42nd Infantry Division, was honored at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony.
The two men had a stirring reunion at a Israeli military base. The trip was sponsored by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a non-profit organization.
“He hugged me and kissed me,” Shafner said. “And I hugged him and kissed him.”
“Sid is crying tears of joy,” Peter Weintraub, president of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces said. “We have done this trip several times but never have we reunited survivors and liberators.”
Levy gave Shafner a plaque that read: “You came like a warrior angel … and carried me into the light.”
Incredible moment of humanity that was born from one of the darkest atrocities of humanity.
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