KNX reports Holocaust Survivors Celebrate Passover

About 40 Holocaust survivors gathered at Jewish Family Service LA to celebrate Passover a week early, as the organization will be closed during the holiday. The event offered a meaningful opportunity for survivors to come together in community and reflection.

Among those in attendance was 85-year-old Ava Nathanson, a Holocaust survivor who shared her story and perspective on the significance of the holiday. Reporter Emily Valdez from KNX News spoke with survivor Ava Nathanson:

“You are a survivor of the Holocaust?”
“Yes, I am. I was born in 1941 in Hungary, into an upper-class family that worked with the underground. Everyone else was killed except my mother and me.”

Surrounded by fellow survivors, Nathanson reflected on what the holiday means to her.
“I have always been very conscious of being Jewish. I have always practiced in my own way—I’m not Orthodox—but being part of a community is very important to me.”

Passover commemorates the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt, but for Holocaust survivors, it carries an additional, deeply personal meaning.

“I was hidden for two years as a child, moved from place to place,” she said. “Then my mother and I were tied together and shot into the Danube when I was four years old.”

“You were shot and thrown into the river?”
“Yes. I spent the following year in hospitals recovering.”

When asked what message she would share with the broader, non-Jewish community, especially in today’s climate, Nathanson expressed concern.
“What worries me is that what’s happening now feels very similar to what happened in Europe before and during the war. I feel people are not learning from history—they’re repeating the same mistakes and allowing it to happen again. We must do everything we can to stop violence, hatred, and bigotry.”

Ava Nathanson, now 85, is among the survivors marking this year’s Passover, which begins on April 1st.