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Linda Schwab
Linda Swidler was born December 1935 in Myadel, Poland (present-day Belarus). The Nazis invaded her shtetl in 1942. After witnessing the killing of the people from her village, the Swidlers went in...view moreLinda Swidler was born December 1935 in Myadel, Poland (present-day Belarus). The Nazis invaded her shtetl in 1942. After witnessing the killing of the people from her village, the Swidlers went into hiding in the Ponar Forest. With the help of people in the nearby village, Linda and her family survived in cave-like conditions until the end of World War II. After the war, Linda lived in the Fohrenwald Displaced Persons Camp located in Bavaria, Germany. She and her family arrived in the United States in 1949. After decades of silence, she finally opened up about her Holocaust experience in the early 1990s as a participant in Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation Institute for History and Education. Linda now tells her story to K-12 and postsecondary students. She is cofounder of Gesher L’Machar, or “Bridge to Tomorrow,” which sponsors students who wish to participate in the annual Holocaust trip to Poland and Israel called The March of the Living. Linda also sponsors a Holocaust Memorial Day essay contest. Named in honor of Linda and her late husband, Morris, is The Schwab Family Holocaust Reading Room at Penn State University-Harrisburg.view less