Most of us can’t imagine what it would be like to be pulled from our homes, forced to leave our families and all our worldly possessions behind, only to be thrown into a terrifying setting where work and death were the only two options.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to millions of people during the Holocaust, and after hearing one survivor’s account last week, I couldn’t help but wonder how far the world has truly come since then and if the world would prevent the same thing from happening today.

Last Monday, Rubin Sztajer, and his wife Regina, came to the Otselic Valley High School to discuss Hitler’s rise to power and what life was like in a concentration camp. “The best way for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing, and that’s exactly what happened in the 30s and 40s,” Rubin said.

Rubin was 12 years old when the war began, and he described in detail how the Holocaust happened through his eyes. He recalls when the Germans came to his town and began killing citizens and demoralizing the Jews. Rubin and his family, consisting of eight people, were sent to live in the ghetto, where their living quarters consisted of one room. They were giving new laws to follow, and with no industry in the ghetto areas, they were few opportunities to earn a living and buy food.