Life Must Go On is the remarkable story of Sol Lurie, a child survivor of six concentration camps during the Holocaust, who continues to be a beacon of hope.
After a bucolic childhood in Kovno, Lithuania, Sol was just eleven when the Nazis invaded and he and his family were forced to move into the Kovno Ghetto. The Kovno Ghetto was one of the only ghettos to later become a concentration camp, and Sol was among just a few Jewish survivors from Kovno.
In this inspiring story of tenacity, character, faith, love, and forgiveness, we follow young Sol through heartbreak and fear, torment, and torture. Through Sol’s eyes, we learn the history of the communities in Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania, which has long been a gap in the wider history of the Holocaust. Along the way, we meet the righteous few who helped save young Sol’s life. After being imprisoned in six other concentration camps for a total of four years, Sol was liberated from Buchenwald on his 15th birthday. To this day, he still joyfully celebrates every year the day he was born and liberated. Miraculously, Sol’s three brothers and his father also survived the Holocaust.
Despite the horrors of youth, Sol never lost his determination to live life to the fullest. He embarked on a new life in the United States and would thrive as a husband, father, grandfather, business owner, and an inspiration for the thousands of schoolchildren and adults who have heard Sol share his incredible tales of survival and the positive lessons he has learned from the most horrific of experiences.
Author Bea Lurie will be in conversation about their book with Dr. Steven Leonard Jacobs.
Bea Lurie is the daughter of two child Holocaust survivors, her father, Sol, and her mother, Evelyn Rebecca Lurie, whose parents escaped from Poland with two toddlers. Bea learned by her parents’ actions the importance of helping those in need and devoted her career to making a difference in the lives of others as a leader of nonprofit organizations and government agencies, and as an owner of two businesses. Bea also is an active volunteer in her community and at her local synagogue.
Dr. Steven Leonard Jacobs is the child of a Holocaust survivor. He is a noted Holocaust and genocide scholar and the author of nearly forty books. Dr. Jacobs is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at University of Alabama and Emeritus Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies.