Posted on: Friday 26 January 2024
A Holocaust survivor who endured four concentration camps and the infamous Nazi Death March has dedicated his life to sharing a message of hope.
Harry Spiro was just 10 years old when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, where he lived with his parents and younger sister.
They were forced to live in ghettos before he was separated from his family and taken to a forced labour concentration camp. Tragically, his family were taken to another concentration camp and murdered.
Remarkably, not only did Harry survive but he has since dedicated his life to talking about his experiences and has chosen to live with "love, life and laughter over bitterness".
Two years ago, Harry and his daughter Tracy Moses spoke to the Regional Community Cohesion team, based with Torfaen Council.
Their moving account has now been turned into a Valleys Voices podcast to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Saturday.
Now in his 90s, Harry has handed over the baton of telling his story to Tracy, who said: "Mum and Dad took a conscious decision to not live with hate. This must have been incredibly hard for him but he always choses love, life and laughter over bitterness.
"Dad's greatest joy is the knowledge his children don't live with hate and we've passed this on to our children so we can all live happy normal lives.
"As he says, if you live with hate, the only person you're hurting is yourself."
Speaking at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday, Council Leader Cllr Anthony Hunt said: "Next year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and there are fewer and fewer survivors of those camps.
"So I think it's important we commemorate and pay respect and tribute to their memories and continue to remember the things that led up to the Holocaust so those atrocities aren't repeated in the future."
You can listen to the Valleys Voices podcast via Spotify, Apple iTunes or via the Valleys Voices webpage.