Holocaust Survivor, 95, Wins Emmy and Delivers Defiant Message to Hitler

Lusia Rosenzweig Milch, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, has won a New York Emmy for her narration of the animated short film "My Mother's Eyes," which recounts her harrowing childhood escape from the Nazis. The award, received on October 10, is seen by Milch as a personal victory and a message of defiance to Adolf Hitler.

"This is our victory. For Hitler and his gang, this is my revenge," Milch stated in an interview. She expressed disbelief at reaching her age and receiving such an honor, considering her traumatic past.

Milch was 10 years old in July 1941 when German troops invaded her hometown of Skalat, Poland, forcing her to flee her idyllic childhood. The animated film details her experience of living in a disease-ridden ghetto, witnessing atrocities, and ultimately fleeing with her mother's encouragement to save herself while her mother and younger sister were murdered. Her father was also killed. She survived for nearly two years by posing as a Ukrainian peasant girl.

After liberation by the Soviet army, Milch eventually made her way to America, where she remarried, had children, and worked as a literature and Russian teacher. Despite building a new life, the memories of the Holocaust continue to haunt her, and she expresses concern about rising antisemitism and hate in the present day.

"Even at my old age, I want to stand in the middle of Times Square and scream, ‘Wake up!’" she said. "It scares the hell out of me to see what’s happening now, but I would never be still again."

Milch, a grandmother of three and great-grandmother of two, believes her Emmy win, alongside producers including her son Dr. David Milch, The Ledi Center, and The Lappin Foundation, is significant in the current climate. Her primary mission now is to educate younger generations to prevent such atrocities from happening again.