HOUSTON – Family and friends are remembering the life and legacy of one of Houston's Holocaust survivors, Stefi Altman.
She passed away Saturday, at the age of 91.
"Neither she nor my dad talked much about the Holocaust," said Altman's son, Mickey Altman.
She was 14 years old when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Her Jewish family was ripped apart and murdered in concentration camps.
Stefi was imprisoned in concentration camps for five years before she was able to escape. She hid in the Polish wilderness until Soviets liberated the area in 1944.
In 1949, Stefi and her husband Herschel moved to America, starting a new life in Houston with their only child.
"She and my dad, even though they didn't know the language or customs, would go to my sporting events and support me any way they could," Mickey Altman recalled.
Eventually, she began sharing her story, speaking to students and volunteering at the Holocaust Museum Houston.
"She wanted to make sure not (only) what she went through (was remembered), but that it shouldn't happen again," Mickey said.
Altman even found the courage to testify against a former Nazi soldier living in the United States, who worked at the camps where she was held.
"It was very difficult for her because of the memories it brought back, but she had the strength to testify and through her testimony, he was expelled from our country," Mickey said.
Through it all, friends said Altman led a life focused on reconciliation, hope and faith in the human spirit.
"I think that we can all learn that happiness comes from being grateful and not being vindictive or vengeful or full of hatred; she did not have an ounce of hate in her body, it was a life of love and gratitude," said longtime friend Regina Rogers.
There is an endowment established at the Holocaust Museum Houston in Stefi Altman's name. Every year on May 15, the museum offers free admission in her honor.