http://townhall.com/columnists/benshapiro/2011/10/19/death_of_a_hero/print
There are very few people we come across who profoundly touch our lives — parents, teachers, friends. Almost all have one aspect in common: They spend copious amounts of time with us.
Then there are the rarities, folks who move us deeply even after just a few meetings. These are people who don’t require time to make their presence felt. These people leave their indelible mark simply by being who they are. We are lucky to come into contact with them.
One of these people died this week. His name was Jack Slomovic, and he passed away at age 86 in Los Angeles. I had the honor of helping him write his memoirs over the course of the last month. His loss represents not just a loss for his family or his community, it reminds us that as we lose our eldest generation, we seem to be losing something much deeper — our sense of individualism, entrepreneurialism and fighting spirit. His life reminds us that we can rebuild all of those elements anew.
Slomovic’s story is incredible. He was born in 1925, in a little town in Czechoslovakia called Solotfina. With the outbreak of World War II, the Hungarians took over the town, implementing anti-Jewish laws at the behest of the Nazis. In 1944, the Germans themselves occupied Solotfina and moved all of the Jews into a ghetto. From there, the Jews were shipped to Auschwitz.