Two cousins who last saw each other 75 years ago were finally reunited.
The emotional moment has become viral online.
Morris Sana, 87, was finally reunited with his cousin Simon Mairowitz, 85, after 75 years.
Video was taken of the reunion.
87-year-old holocaust survivor reunited with his long-lost cousin l ABC Newswww.youtube.com
Sana and Mairowitz's families lived in Romania in the 1940s. The two were best friends growing up.
Then, in 1944, the Nazis invaded. Sana was able to escape with his family but didn't know what happened to Mairowitz.
After the war, Sana tried to find his cousin, and was led to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Mairowitz was listed there as having perished.
Years later, Sana's daughter, Camela Ofer used a genealogy website to find other family members. Through this, she discovered family living in England they didn't know about.
Ofer's DNA had been matched with Mairowitz's daughter, Gemma Brown leading to the families reconnecting.
After Ofer had a video chat with the discovered relatives, she told her father that Mairowitz and his family were alive. He was in shock.
Ofer told Good Morning America,
"He said, 'It couldn't be. They're listed as perished in the Holocaust!'"
The two families arranged a meeting in Israel where they happened to have trips planned for similar times. A quick adjustment to their flights and they would finally meet.
In the video, Sana walks in, still incredulous at his cousin and friend still alive. Mairowitz extends his arms and the two embrace.
It's enough to make anyone cry.
The two were able to catch up after all this time. Sana finally got to find out what happened to his old friend.
Mairowitz was able to escape with his sister to England, thanks to the help of an English colonel. He was placed in foster care and raised by a Catholic family.
The only thing left to do was take a trip to the Yad Vashem to correct a mistake.
Ofer said:
"We changed their status from perished to survivor."
The happiest ending one could hope for.
*****
Listen to the first season of George Takei's podcast, 'Oh Myyy Pod!' where we explore the racially charged videos that have taken the internet by storm.
Be sure to subscribe here and never miss an episode.
