'A Promise Kept': Holocaust survivor shares experiences at Glenbard West

Joyce Wagner spent almost two years between 1943 and 1945 imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, and she emerged as the sole survivor of the Holocaust from her Polish family of 11.

She went on to write a book about her experience, "A Promise Kept to Bear Witness," and on Thursday she shared her story with students at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

Wagner, now 97, began her relentless mission to ensure students remember the atrocities of the Holocaust more than 40 years ago when her daughter, Gilda Ross, invited her to a small theater in 1976 to speak with students who were preparing for their production of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Ross, the student and community projects coordinator in Glenbard High School District 87, was a guidance counselor at the time.

Since that day, Wagner says she has been speaking with students whenever possible knowing theirs will be the last generation to hear directly from a Holocaust survivor.

Her appearance coincides with Glenbard West's plans to present "The Diary of Anne Frank" as its winter theater production in late January.