The tearful reunion brought together former childhood pals, who thought that one another had perished in the Holocaust.
By United With Israel Staff
Morris Sana, 87, and Simon Mairowitz, 85, were close cousins in Romania before World War II. Until last week, each of them thought that the other had perished in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.
That all changed in Israel, when they met for the first time in 75 years, reconnecting after Sana’s niece and daughter found descendants on Facebook, according to People.
Each man, unbeknownst to the other, escaped Romania with their families during World War II following the German invasion in 1940.
Sana lives in Israel and Mairowitz lives in the United Kingdom.
The video clip of the tearful reunion in Tel Aviv shows Sana and Mairowitz overcome with emotion as they walk towards each other, arms extended.
“Seventy-five years you waited,” Mairowitz tells Sana while holding his face in his hands. “I know it’s a long time. We’ve got each other now. And we can see each other.”
Sana tells Mairowitz that he often thought of his long lost cousin.
“I imagine you when you were a little boy,” Sana says.
“You remember, don’t you?” Mairowitz says. “I can’t remember that.”
It is estimated that at least 6 million Jewish men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.