The television program *Migrantes*, hosted by journalist Millizen Uribe and aired on Telesistema Channel 11, recently featured poignant testimonies from descendants of Jewish refugees who settled in Sosúa, Dominican Republic. These individuals shared deeply moving accounts of their grandparents’ experiences, who fled the Nazi genocide during the mid-20th century. The program shed light on the resilience and enduring legacy of these survivors. Julli Wellich Miller, one of the descendants, recounted the challenges her grandmother faced upon arrival in 1940, including the harsh tropical climate, which was a stark contrast to the European weather they were accustomed to. Despite adapting to the new environment, her grandmother carried the emotional scars of losing several relatives in the Holocaust. Miller emphasized her grandmother’s strength and the role of faith in their lives, stating, ‘The Jewish religion has a tradition that can be carried from home.’ Another descendant, Eric Czarlinski, shared his father’s harrowing experience of being forcibly taken from his home by the Nazis, describing it as ‘worse than what you see in the movies.’ Czarlinski also reflected on his mixed religious identity, acknowledging the difficulty of maintaining Jewish traditions while living in the capital. The Holocaust, known as the Shoah in Hebrew, was a systematic genocide aimed at exterminating the Jewish population of Europe during World War II. These testimonies serve as a powerful reminder of the atrocities of the past and the enduring strength of those who survived.
Sosúa: The Dominican corner that defied Adolf Hitler’s hatred and saved lives from the Holocaust
