For Neta Reich Nelson, this International Holocaust Remembrance Day is different.

Her parents, Stanley Reich and Tamara Reich, survived a genocide that claimed the lives of several million people.

Her father passed away just last week. Her mother died in 2020. But the stories of what they endured have stuck with Nelson and colored her life.

"I never take anything for granted. I don’t take property, possessions, even life for granted because of my parents' history," said Nelson. "I realized that all of that can be taken away at an instant."

Nelson's father was just a child when he and his family were rounded up by the Nazis.

"His family was split up into three different concentration camps," said Nelson.

He and his mother eventually escaped and were forced to hide in a convent and monastery in Italy before they emigrated to Palestine.

Nelson’s mother also survived the horrors of the Holocaust at a young age. She was sent to an orphanage with her younger brother when her father could no longer take care of them.

"That action actually spared those two children because the rest of the family was taken to Auschwitz," said Nelson.

Her mother eventually fled Europe and settled in Palestine, where her parents met and fell in love.

"I firmly believe that if it had not been for World War II and Hitler, my parents would never have met, and I would not exist," said Nelson.

The family immigrated to New York City in 1958, and they lived there for many years before the couple moved to Florida, back to New York City and later, the Hudson Valley, where they lived in Liberty, and finally Newburgh.

"My parents were gypsies their whole lives, and they couldn’t really sit still," said Nelson.

But it was their resilience that she remembers most.

"I think they were incredibly strong. My mother was the strongest person I've ever known," said Nelson. "She always tried to look on the bright side of things, always was grateful for what she had, whether it was a little or it was a lot."

Their harrowing story of survival taught her to appreciate the freedoms often taken for granted.

"I take a very long view of things, realizing that your world can be turned upside down very easily, and as an immigrant American, I do feel from my parents that what we have here is precious," said Nelson.

Her parents loved living in Newburgh for the last 12 years of their lives, and were embraced by their neighbors and the Jewish community of Orange County.

"They did get connected with the Jewish Federation [of Greater Orange County] and the Jewish Federation support system for Holocaust survivors, and as among the oldest Holocaust survivors still alive, I think their presence made an impact," said Nelson. 

Their lives also served as a reminder that the Holocaust wasn’t that long ago.

"Sometimes it seems like these events happened a long time ago, but they didn’t, and I think it's important for Holocaust survivors and succeeding generations to tell their stories, to remind people how precarious life is, how precarious freedom is," said Nelson. "Today, I think is a very good day to tell such stories."