Miriam Fridman: " As we approach the liberation anniversary, I thank America for liberating us and giving us an opportunity of freedom for a better tomorrow. We raised our families here and gave our children the best education possible. President Ronald Reagan said that we were "The best immigrants America ever had" I am proud of the achievements of each of the survivors and now we have the ability to help others". I was born in Lodz. Poland. My father was in the dairy business, which meant that we were affluent. and I attended private Jewish schools. In those days, I was involved in Zionist causes. I spent my youth in the ghetto. I can remember my hair freezing to the wall because it was so cold, and we did not have wood to burn for fire. I spent time in various concentration camps even Auschwitz. where my job was to clean the bricks of the crematorium. On May 8, 1945, I was liberated and found my way to a displaced persons camp in Italy. A distant cousin gave me sponsorship to come to the United States. Miriam married in 1948, and her husband died in 1994. She has been honored many times for her educational work dealing with the Holocaust. "By teaching about our past, we can prevent history from repeating itself" She has spoken to the Shoah Foundation. She states that it is important for Israel to survive. She became a founding member of the Holocaust Survivors of Southeast Florida and is serving her third term as president.