Miles Lerman
Born: 1920, Tomaszov-Lubelski, Poland
Describes lifelong camaraderie among partisans [Interview: 2001]
I must tell you that my sense of admiration and love, and you know, and camaraderie with these people, that whenever they have a simcha, you know whether it is a Bar Mitzvah, or a wedding, or a funeral, of people that I was in the forest with, no matter how busy I am, it gets wiped out, and I'm there. It's a special feeling. There's a special.... I have people in Vineland... you know. We are better than family. Do I have a lot in common with them? Frankly no. You understand what I am saying? But, what difference does it make? It's much more -- it's much more important, much stronger.
I must tell you that my sense of admiration and love, and you know, and camaraderie with these people, that whenever they have a simcha, you know whether it is a Bar Mitzvah, or a wedding, or a funeral, of people that I was in the forest with, no matter how busy I am, it gets wiped out, and I'm there. It's a special feeling. There's a special.... I have people in Vineland... you know. We are better than family. Do I have a lot in common with them? Frankly no. You understand what I am saying? But, what difference does it make? It's much more -- it's much more important, much stronger.
Miles Lerman was a Holocaust survivor, partisan fighter in the forests of Poland, international leader in the cause of Holocaust remembrance, and a "founding father" of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
— US Holocaust Memorial Museum
