A sweet video revealing two Jewish cousins being reunited, who were originally separated during the Second World War, has warmed the hearts of thousands.
The video reveals the moment Morris Sana, 87, and Simon Mairowitz, 85, met face-to-face in Tel Aviv, Israel, after decades of believing each other was killed in concentration camps.
The two were reunited last Thursday after their relatives realized the childhood friends were still alive after finding them on Facebook.
The cousins fought back tears as they said they were happy to see each other almost 75 years later but it was Morris who recognized his family member first.
Simon, comforting his cousin, said:
“Good to see you too after all these years. 75 years you waited. It’s a long time, but we’ve got each other now.”
Morris resides in Israel while Simon, from the UK. They were originally separated after they escaped from Romania in the 1940s with their families when the government was overthrown and the country was forced to ally with Nazi Germany.
The endearing video was posted to Facebook by Morris’ granddaughter, Leetal Ofer, who wrote:
“This is one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen and I’d love to share it with you. My mom recently found some of her long lost cousins on Facebook. To make a long story short… My grandfather couldn’t find his cousin and best friend after the Holocaust and was sure that he was killed at the concentration camps.”
She continued on, adding:
“He hasn’t seen or heard from his cousin in 75 years. We were able to arrange for the cousins to meet today. The war tore so many families apart and to bring them together in Israel is so magical.”
When World War II broke out in the year 1939, King Carol II officially adopted a position of neutrality for Romania.
But after the country was overthrown, Romanian troops were responsible for the persecution and massacre of at least 260,000 Jews in Romanian-controlled territories, despite the majority of Jews living in Romania.
Morris and Simon are just two of the thousands who had zero idea what happened to loved ones following World War II.
They are the lucky ones to have found each other after all this time.