He lost six brothers and five sisters in the Holocaust.
Now 91, Sam Rosen said he is the only Holocaust survivor left in Scranton.
The thought is terrible, he said, but it makes events like the Teen Symposium on the Holocaust all the more important. "I've got a new family now," he said. "It's nice to be together with all the other survivors."
A group of survivors of the World War II atrocity gathered Tuesday at the 25th anniversary recognition dinner at the Scranton Jewish Community Center. It celebrated the silver anniversary of the symposium, a two-day event that this year gave about 1,450 students and teachers from more than 20 schools a chance to meet with survivors and liberators and learn about the Holocaust.
Tova Weiss, 62, was honored for her role as the Holocaust Education Resource Center director. She spearheaded the event for the past 18 years, though she noted this year's festivities were coordinated by Mary Ann Answini.
"It's extremely rewarding to have seen the program grow, to see so much more interest in the Holocaust," Ms. Weiss said. "It has been inspirational for me to meet some of the people."
She said students who have attended the symposium over the years often return, even after graduation, as volunteers.
That included 16-year-old Timothy Shaffer of Lake Ariel. In fourth grade, he brought his school project on Anne Frank to share with survivors at the symposium. Now a sophomore at Western Wayne, he spoke at the event.
"It's made me realize how significant the Holocaust is and how many were affected," he said of his experience.
Continued education of students gives context and legitimacy to the World War II events, which some try to deny, said Mark Silverberg, executive director of the Jewish Federation.
"You say 1 million people, it's a number," he said. The symposium shows "the faces of the children, who have done nothing wrong and have the world waiting for them, who were killed."
"We try to show the difference between right and wrong," he added.
Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter