Saul Drier is a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor. He lives in Coconut Beach, Florida. In 2014, Saul organized a band of Holocaust survivors to honor the memory of Alice Hertz-Sommer, the oldest living survivor of that awful time in our history, who had died that year.  

Mrs. Hertz-Sommer and her son were liberated from the Terezin concentration camp. She was a concert pianist and music teacher. During her internment in the camp, she performed as often as she could for the other prisoners. Here is a beautiful quote from her:  

“… life is beautiful, love is beautiful, nature and music are beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love.” 

That is what she did until she died at the age of 110 in February 2014. Our man Saul thought to keep her memory alive with the organization of a band with members who had experienced similar horrors at the camps and came back to live and love life. The Holocaust Survivor Band consists of 6 musicians and a woman singer. They opened in Saul’s temple in 2014 where his rabbi had told him he was nuts to attempt this feat. Everyone told him he was nuts to start this type of band at the tender age of 89. But he did it! 

This band has played all over the USA from Washington DC to Las Vegas and other parts of the world like Israel.  They bring hope and joy to everyone. Examples of people who didn’t give up in the face of overwhelming adversity; people who clawed their way back to live productive lives after incredible sadness and often despair – with the help of music and God. 

When asked why he founded the band, he said, “I will play for as long as I can, because music is hope. I am not interested in politics or taking sides. My purpose in life is to get people to see that we are all one, we all sing the same song.” (emphasis added) 

I know that God loves Saul Drier just as much as he loves you-unconditionally. Amen! 

Terri