By Anna Maria Sacio
In the annals of history, there are stories that transcend time, carrying with them the weight of unspeakable suffering and the triumph of the human spirit. This is the biography of Avraham Peter, a Holocaust survivor, whose journey from silence to strength unfolded against a backdrop of unimaginable darkness.
Despite the horrors he experienced as a child, Avraham did not surrender to his past. He devoted himself to the struggle of the Jewish people, fighting for Israel's freedom during its War of Independence. He worked hard to create a beautiful life for himself, marrying and raising a family. In a foreign land and a new language, he pursued a PhD in engineering and became one of NASA's brilliant minds, instrumental in bringing the stranded Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth.
Avraham Peter's triumph was to go from a ghetto boy to a rocket man. Physically imprisoned by the Nazis as a child, his determination and strength of spirit allowed him to leave the ghetto behind to pursue his dreams. His story shows us that human beings are capable of reaching the highest of highs from the lowest of lows. It is a story that inspires. It is a story that deserves to be told.