Alice Herz-Sommer the oldest living survivor….

I think living for 110 years is a great feat on its own but combine that with having survived, together with a very young child, a Nazi concentration camp and yet losing your mother, father and husband, amongst other family members, to the Holocaust; then finally burying your one and only son 13 years before the end of your own life and yet you can still manage to say “Life is beautiful” then this must be a very remarkable person.

These are the words of Alice Herz-Sommer who died earlier this week but when interviewed a few years ago she insisted that optimism was the key to her longevity. She was an incredibly talented pianist who at 108 years was still practising for 3 hours a day. Music was her God and the key to her survival.

If you have not read her obituary in any of the national papers then listen to her interview that was played on Woman’s Hour this morning (Click here) or watch the short film below which is utterly mesmerising.

One of my favourite lines from Alice was when she said,  “I know about the bad but I look at the good thing.” There is not one ounce of bitterness in Alice and yet she faced some of the worst evils known to man and managed to find goodness in life.

I think we could all do with a little bit of Alice philosophy in our lives!! Read her book too if you can…..