Holocaust Remembrance Day observed in El Paso, where dozens of survivors sought a new life

EL PASO, Texas -- Some of the darkest moments in all of human history were revisited all across the world on Monday during International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It was also a solemn anniversary, representing 75 years to the day since Russian soldiers liberated the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, where over one million people had been murdered.

“We will be commemorating that for the next several months through various programs and exhibits," said El Paso Holocaust Museum executive director Jamie Flores.

After the war ended, nearly 100 Holocaust survivors settled in the Borderland in search for a second chance at life.

UTEP Prof. Mimi Gladstein says she is alive today because of her parents efforts to flee Nazi Poland before it was to late.

“We would have all been dead," said Gladstein. "I never had grand-parents. My grandparents on both sides were killed by the Nazis. Several aunts and uncles were killed also.”

Gladstein said that El Paso should be proud of how it accepted the survivors and made them part of the community but must continue to guard against indifference to keep history from repeating itself.

According to the El Paso Holocaust Museum records, they average about 30,000 visitors a year most importantly including nearly 10,000 students who are bused in from around the Borderland to learn about that history.