Anna Rado was only 13 years old the day she and her family were taken from their home by Nazi troops.
Now 84, Rado spends her days sharing her story. Tuesday night, her presentation was part of an annual series sponsored in part by the Holocaust Memorial Museum in San Antonio.
"I just want to talk to people and tell them about all this because there are some people who will say that the Holocaust didn't happen, and I'm living proof that it happened,” Rado said.
Rado admits even after all this time, the memories are still painful.
"I can see my nightmares sometimes because you cannot forget when something like this happens,” she said.
Packed into freight trains, Rado and her family were sent to Auschwitz, the biggest concentration camp in Poland. It was the last time she would ever see her father.
"When her dad walked away and she never saw him again and then when they took her mom, I was very touched,” presentation guest Jeanine Salazar said. “I was just amazed that someone can just be taken away from their children like that."
Her parents died in the camp, but Rado and her sister survived. Now she enjoys life in the Alamo City.
“I had my husband for 53 years. He passed away 10 years ago, but I have grandchildren and great grandchildren, and it makes my living worthwhile."
Rado hopes that by sharing her story, younger generations won't repeat the mistakes of the past.
Rado is part of a series dedicated to educating people on what concentration camps like Auschwitz are like. To learn more about her story and others, go to learnandremember.org.