{"id":610100,"date":"2024-02-24T23:42:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T20:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/holocaust-survivor-saul-dreier-99-promotes-peace-through-his-band\/"},"modified":"2024-02-24T23:42:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T20:42:07","slug":"holocaust-survivor-saul-dreier-99-promotes-peace-through-his-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/holocaust-survivor-saul-dreier-99-promotes-peace-through-his-band\/","title":{"rendered":"#Holocaust survivor Saul Dreier, 99, promotes peace through his band"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4f76cf3a2c6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4f76cf3a2c6\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/holocaust-survivor-saul-dreier-99-promotes-peace-through-his-band\/#A_new_calling_%E2%88%92_at_89_years_old\" >A new calling \u2212 at 89 years old<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/holocaust-survivor-saul-dreier-99-promotes-peace-through-his-band\/#%E2%80%98Never_again_as_fewer_Holocaust_survivors_remain\" >&#8216;Never again,&#8217; as fewer Holocaust survivors remain<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"videoWrap\" class=\"spacer-large videoWrap\" style=\"position:relative\"><media-video video-id=\"72716069007\" title=\"Watch this 99-year-old drummer's tribute to victims of the Holocaust\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/23\/USAT\/72715088007-20240223-kind-hkndn-holocaust-survivor-drummer-16-x-9-thumbnail.jpg?crop=1919,1079,x0,y0\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\" placement=\"snow-video-story-priority\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"uwVideoPlaceholder\" slot=\"placeholder\" style=\"z-index:19;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%;position:relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;width:100%;height:100%;z-index:2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/23\/USAT\/72715088007-20240223-kind-hkndn-holocaust-survivor-drummer-16-x-9-thumbnail.jpg?crop=1919,1079,x0,y0\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"vidplaybtn\" style=\"display:-moz-box;display:-ms-flexbox;display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.4);border:2px solid #fff;border-radius:80px;cursor:pointer;height:80px;width:80px;position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);z-index:10\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div slot=\"videoDetails\" id=\"videoDetails\" class=\"videoDetails\" style=\"padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:8px\">\n<div id=\"videoDetailsContainer\" class=\"videoDetailsContainer\" hidden=\"\">Watch this 99-year-old drummer&#8217;s tribute to victims of the Holocaust<\/p>\n<p>Ninety-nine-year-old Saul Dreier pays homage to the victims of Nazi Germany&#8217;s concentration camps by drumming in the Holocaust Survivors Band.<\/p>\n<p>USA Today<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/media-video><\/div>\n<p>Saul Dreier, fresh out of rehab after hip surgery, was ready for an interview, and the 99-year-old showed it by diving right into the story, one he&#8217;s told many times.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"><\/partner-banner>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t the story of his idyllic childhood in Krakow, Poland. Or how that was shattered when World War II broke out, or how he and his family were forced like hundreds of thousands of other Jews into ghettos as Nazis occupied the country.<\/p>\n<p>It was not the story of watching German soldiers shoot his disabled mother, or losing his family, or his labor in a concentration camp at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mauthausen-memorial.org\/en\/History\/The-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp-19381945\">Mauthausen\u2013Gusen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Dreier, who&#8217;s played all over the world with his Holocaust Survivors Band, launched energetically into the story of how he started his first band a decade ago, at the tender age of 89.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-banner>\n<p>&#8220;I read an essay \u2212 you know what this is, an essay? \u2212 about a woman, she was 108 years old and she was a pianist. She was liberated from a German camp and she played for people there, to Jews living in Germany,&#8221; he told USA TODAY from his home in Coconut Creek, Florida. &#8220;She passed away, and I wanted to do something for this woman.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He contemplated ways to continue her legacy: To educate people about the Holocaust, to fight antisemitism, to advocate for peace and tolerance. He decided his longtime love for music would be the way to win hearts.<\/p>\n<p><cta-atoms-container-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/cta\" class=\"spacer-large\"><\/cta-atoms-container-inline><\/p>\n<p>Dreier has <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ed the world since then, doing that and more \u2212 even <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/forward.com\/news\/573889\/joe-biden-saul-dreier-holocaust-survivor-white-house-hanukkah\/\">playing drums with the U.S. Marine Band<\/a> at a White House Hanukkah celebration.<\/p>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697744007-img-5333.jpeg bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697744007-img-5333.jpeg?crop=319,238,x0,y0 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697744007-img-5333.jpeg?crop=179,238,x79,y0 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697744007-img-5333.jpeg?crop=319,179,x0,y0 16:9\" image-alt=\"\" credit=\"Provided by Justyna Kolaczek\" caption=\"Saul Dreier plays drums in the Holocaust Survivors Band, which he founded. A native of Krakow, Poland and now a Florida resident, he travels the world playing music and advocating for peace and tolerance.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"><\/media-image><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_new_calling_%E2%88%92_at_89_years_old\"><\/span>A new calling \u2212 at 89 years old<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Turns out, advocacy was the easy part. The hard part? Convincing loved ones, including his wife, he wasn&#8217;t crazy.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"600\" outstream=\"\" momentum=\"\"><\/partner-banner><partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-inline>\n<p>Within days of reading the article that inspired him, Dreier walked into a local Sam Ash Music store and asked about drum sets. An incredulous, but ultimately helpful, sales person showed Dreier what he needed, accessories and all, then loaded Dreier&#8217;s &#8220;very small Lexus&#8221; so he could bring his equipment home.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was everywhere,&#8221; Dreier recalled. &#8220;On the back. In the front. On the top. With just enough room left for me to drive. I was a very h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y musician.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697746007-justyna-kolaczek-saul-dreier-bialy-dom.jpeg bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697746007-justyna-kolaczek-saul-dreier-bialy-dom.jpeg?crop=319,238,x0,y0 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697746007-justyna-kolaczek-saul-dreier-bialy-dom.jpeg?crop=179,238,x69,y0 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697746007-justyna-kolaczek-saul-dreier-bialy-dom.jpeg?crop=319,180,x0,y27 16:9\" image-alt=\"\" credit=\"Provided by Justyna Kolaczek\" caption=\"Saul Dreier, center left, met with President Joe Biden along with a group of fellow Holocaust survivors in December. Dreier asked to play the drums with the U.S. Marine Band, a request the band accommodated.\" orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"><\/media-image><\/p>\n<p>When he got home, he announced to his wife that he had a surprise for her. &#8220;But you live with a woman many years, she knows all my tricks,&#8221; he said. She wasn&#8217;t impressed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She told me, &#8216;The drums go or I go,'&#8221; he remembered. &#8220;But when you&#8217;re married so long, you fight for five minutes and then you make up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-banner>\n<p>After performing his first show, an &#8220;international concert&#8221; that he arranged at a local synagogue with a small orchestra and a Brazilian singer, the skeptics were convinced.<\/p>\n<p><media-gallery-promo asset-id=\"11686806002\" class=\"column ten-column no-gutter spacer-large\"><\/media-gallery-promo><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"presto-h2 wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Never_again_as_fewer_Holocaust_survivors_remain\"><\/span>&#8216;Never again,&#8217; as fewer Holocaust survivors remain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Dreier, who raised four children with his wife, is a grandfather of eight and great-grandfather of three. A former welder and retired businessman, he lives independently. His wife, Clara, died in 2016.<\/p>\n<partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-inline>\n<p>He&#8217;s one of a shrinking number of survivors of the 20th century&#8217;s worst genocide, one that claimed 6 million Jewish lives. There are about 245,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors still living, according to a study by the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.claimscon.org\/demographics\/\">Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany<\/a>. Most, 49%, live in Israel, while about 18% live in North America; altogether, survivors are spread across 90 countries.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These are Jews who were born into a world that wanted to see them murdered,&#8221; Greg Schneider<strong>,<\/strong> the conference&#8217;s executive director, wrote. &#8220;They endured the atrocities of the Holocaust in their youth and were forced to rebuild an entire life out of the ashes of the camps and ghettos that ended their families and communities. The data forces us to accept the reality that Holocaust survivors won\u2019t be with us forever, indeed, we have already lost most survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-banner>\n<p>Dreier&#8217;s mission and mantra \u2212 &#8220;never again, never again, never again&#8221; \u2212 was the inspiration behind <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sauldreier.com\/foundation\/\">Saul&#8217;s Generation Foundation<\/a>, founded along with Justyna Kolaczek, who met Dreier through a mutual friend. The foundation helps connect people of Polish heritage with their homeland, connects young people with seniors, helps elderly people in need and educates young people about history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He talks to young people about their mental health,&#8221; said Kolaczek, who divides her time between Poland and the U.S. &#8220;We see so many students and teens with mental health challenges, so we are going to schools to talk about Saul&#8217;s past, about the war and what he went through.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s not all. &#8220;It&#8217;s about dreams, too, and how it&#8217;s never too late to follow them. He did this when he was 89 years old,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p><media-image image-set=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697745007-italy-1946-or-1947.jpeg bestCrop, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697745007-italy-1946-or-1947.jpeg?crop=227,171,x0,y47 4:3, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697745007-italy-1946-or-1947.jpeg?crop=227,303,x0,y7 3:4, https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697745007-italy-1946-or-1947.jpeg?crop=227,128,x0,y63 16:9\" image-alt=\"\" credit=\"Provided by Justyna Kolaczek\" caption=\"Saul Dreier, pictured in Italy in the mid-1940s where he lived briefly after World War II, survived the Holocaust. He now travels the world as a drummer, playing in a band and helping other Holocaust survivors in need.\" orientation=\"vertical\" class=\"spacer-large\" util-module-path=\"elements\/media\"><\/media-image><\/p>\n<p>Dreier&#8217;s energy and passion are remarkable for anyone, let alone someone nearing a century of living. He&#8217;s endured unimaginable losses, battled cancer, witnessed the worst of humanity \u2212 and still, somehow, come through all of it with love in his heart and music in his soul.<\/p>\n<partner-banner util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" fluid=\"\" bottom=\"\" lazy=\"\" class=\"spacer-large\" min-height=\"390\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-banner><partner-inline util-module-path=\"elements\/partner\" class=\"spacer-large\" placement=\"native-article_link\" sizes=\"[[300, 250], [3, 3]]\" min-height=\"250\" fluid=\"\" outstream=\"\"><\/partner-inline>\n<p>&#8220;He is a huge inspiration for young people,&#8221; Kolaczek said. &#8220;Sometimes, he acts like a teenager.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am in <em>love<\/em> with my foundation,&#8221; Dreier replied, sounding like a kid with a serious crush. &#8220;It&#8217;s about how we all have one heart. No matter who we are, we all have to live with one heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That heart keeps beating, just like Dreier&#8217;s drums.<\/p>\n<p><em>Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X (formerly <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>) @wordsbyphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra<\/em>.<\/p>\n<lit-timestamp class=\"column ten-column no-gutter spacer-small\" slot=\"timestamp\" publishdate=\"2024-02-24 11:02:13 +0000 UTC\" updatedate=\"2024-02-24 11:02:20 +0000 UTC\"><\/lit-timestamp><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/02\/24\/saul-dreier-holocaust-survivors-band\/72614300007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch this 99-year-old drummer&#8217;s tribute to victims of the Holocaust Ninety-nine-year-old Saul Dreier pays homage to the victims of Nazi Germany&#8217;s concentration camps by drumming in the Holocaust Survivors Band. USA Today Saul Dreier, fresh out of rehab after hip surgery, was ready for an interview, and the 99-year-old showed it by diving right into&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":610101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/02\/22\/USAT\/72697744007-img-5333.jpeg?auto=webp&crop=319,179,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-610100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}