Holocaust Survivor inspires her grandchildren with her story of resilience

ByAmit Lerner, Jordan Arseneau, Eduardo Sanchez & Brian Sung Localish logo
Monday, May 22, 2023
Holocaust survivor Ginger Lane on how one person changed her life.
Holocaust survivor Ginger Lane recounts how one person's small light changed the course of her life. See what wisdom this bubbe, Yiddish for grandmother, has passed on to her family and why she feels that Miep Gies, the central figure in @ASmallLight, is a beacon of hope for all of us. Watch A Small Light tonight at 9/8c on National Geographic TV. Now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

CHICAGO -- Ginger Lane was born in Berlin two months after Germany invaded Poland.

When her mother was taken to Auschwitz, Arthur Schmidt, a farmer, put Ginger and her siblings in a truck and drove them out to his farm where they lived in a laundry shed on his property.

"I think the biggest thing behind hope is that it just takes one person," reflects Ginger's granddaughter Taylor. "It took one couple, and now we have 74 people in our family that all stemmed from them hiding seven children."

Ginger discovered many parallels between her story and the bravery shown in the new National Geographic series 'A Small Light.' The series highlights the story of Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank and others from the Nazis during World War II.

"The story of Anne Frank, of course, is paramount in everyone's mind. [...] But these people who helped the family, it's just a wonderful icon for all of us. And so this small light, kind of not so small. She's a huge figure in Holocaust history," Ginger concludes.

Ginger continues to be an inspiration to her family and her community as a survivor and disabilities activist in Chicago.

All episodes of National Geographic TV's 'A Small Light' are now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

To learn more about Ginger's story check out the feature documentary 'Would You Hide Me?'

Disney is the parent company of ABC Localish, National Geographic, Hulu and this station.