Ernest Sterzer, survivor

Yesterday, Kayla Brown of Kayla’s Life Notes wrote a blog post titled “Just a Reminder…” and linked to the story of Ernest Sterzer.  Mr. Sterzer was diagnosed with diabetes (Type 1, though it wasn’t called that at the time) at the age of three, just a few short years after Dr. Banting’s discovery of insulin.  When he was thirteen, at the start of World War II, he and his family were captured by Nazis and he lived the hell they imposed throughout his teenage years.  Somehow, he survived this awful part of our world’s history.

I find this story so captivating; maybe it’s because of the diabetes angle, or maybe because certain branches in my own family-tree abruptly stop at this genealogical time-point.  Whatever the reason, it strikes a very personal chord with me.