As the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles, Gidon Ariel is working to preserve their stories before they disappear.
Root Source is a nonprofit founded by Ariel that brings pro-Israel Christians and Jews together through shared learning and dialogue. Now, through its We Must Not Forget project, Ariel is taking on a different challenge: publishing the life stories of 100 Holocaust survivors in English, including accounts that have never reached a wider audience and might otherwise be forgotten.
The project began after Ariel met 95-year-old Holocaust survivor Rabbi Eliyahu Dermer.
Ariel had heard about Dermer, a Holocaust survivor who had rebuilt his life in Israel and become a respected rabbi. Dermer offered to answer his questions verbally or show him a manuscript about his life that he had written years earlier. He then pulled it out of a drawer.
"He pulls this out of his drawer and I say, this is very nice, very touching, but there are three problems," Ariel told Israel Hayom.
The manuscript was a typewritten photocopy, with no pictures, that Dermer had never formally published – and it was in Hebrew.
"What about the 99% of the world that doesn't know Hebrew at all?" noted Ariel.
Ariel had experience translating and publishing books in English, so he offered to turn Dermer's manuscript into a professionally produced book. The result was Through Faith and Fire: The Life of Rabbi Eliyahu Dermer, published in 2025.
"Sadly, Rabbi Dermer passed away one month after I published the book but I was able to present it to him," shared Ariel.
Dermer had seen his life story in print, but Ariel couldn't stop thinking about all the other accounts that might never be published. The experience left him determined to do more.
"I decided that this touched me so much that as we say in Hebrew: you don't have to finish the work, but you can't just do nothing about it."
That became the starting point for We Must Not Forget, which aims to publish 100 Holocaust survivors' life stories in English. The first book is fully funded, and around 20 more stories are at various stages of development.
Stories in danger of disappearing
For Ariel, the project is also personal. His own father survived the Holocaust in Hungary and recorded his testimony through the USC Shoah Foundation. But Ariel knows that not every survivor's story has been recorded, preserved or made easy to find.
"I'm definitely looking for Holocaust survivors who are still alive, but really, unless they're 100 years old, they were babies during the Holocaust."
The project seeks stories from survivors who are still alive, as well as manuscripts written by those who have since passed away. Some may be sitting in family homes; others may have been published in Hebrew decades ago and never translated.
Some survivors managed to document their experiences, but publication was beyond their reach. Without translation and wider distribution, Ariel worries these accounts risk remaining unknown outside their families.
"So obviously it's not on Amazon, and unless somebody happens to come across it in this library, their story is gone."
Ariel believes that publishing these stories in English gives them a chance to reach readers who might never otherwise encounter them.
"People who write their stories, it's very rare that they would have the opportunity to get it published. There's a few who are very well known and famous, but the fact is, other than maybe their direct family, no one will know their story."
The work behind the stories
Ariel's goal is to publish 100 books and donate the collection to libraries around the world. To make that happen, he is looking for individuals, churches, synagogues and schools willing to sponsor a survivor's story.
"I'm looking to find 100 individuals, churches, synagogues, schools, to adopt a Holocaust survivor and his story, so that they will not have died twice."
Each book costs approximately $7,000 to produce through Root Source. Ariel says publishing privately would cost tens of thousands of dollars. He believes the cost can be manageable if communities contribute together.
"For example, a classroom of 10th graders who are studying the Holocaust, if they decide to knock on their parents' doors, their uncle's and aunt's doors, and their neighbors' doors, then 35 people can donate $200, obviously they'll get a copy of the book that is produced as well."
Finding the stories, raising the money and producing the books are all part of Ariel's work. As he put it during the interview:
"I have three full-time jobs. It's finding the stories, it's finding the adopters, the financial supporters of the stories, and it's actually doing the stories."
The project has already partnered with Yad Vashem on Rabbi Dermer's story, and Ariel hopes to develop further partnerships.
A race against time
Ariel founded Root Source around 15 years ago with Christian partner Bob O'Dell. The organization now offers more than 1,000 recorded lessons from Jewish teachers and has attracted over 50,000 subscribers to its free weekly newsletter. We Must Not Forget builds on that work by connecting people through the personal histories of Holocaust survivors.
For Ariel, the urgency is unmistakable. The survivors are growing older, and the opportunity to hear their stories firsthand is disappearing. Many accounts have already been written; what they need is someone willing to bring them to the world.
"It's the last time to do this."
Through We Must Not Forget, Ariel hopes to ensure that these stories survive their authors and remain accessible to generations who will know the Holocaust only through the testimonies and records left behind.
Learn more or support the project at We Must Not Forget.
