A Holocaust survivor who went on to establish the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach has died. David Schaecter was 96 years old.
Survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald
Schaecter was born in Czechoslovakia. He was 11 years old when he was forced into cattle trains and taken to Auschwitz. He spent the next four years there and at Buchenwald. His immediate and extended family was murdered in concentration camps.
But he survived, spending his life educating and advocating for fellow survivors. In addition to founding the Holocaust Memorial, Schaecter also served as president of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA.
A legacy of education and activism
CBS News Miami has told Schaecter’s story of activism and education for decades. In 2012, Ted Scouten traveled to Auschwitz with Schaecter and fellow survivors David Mermelstein and Joe Sachs. The men took part in the March of the Living program, educating teenagers about the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Their education efforts were documented for the CBS Miami special “March of the Living: Return to Auschwitz.” The men toured the concentration camps with teenagers, detailing their personal experiences of loss and terror…