tonight, 75 years after the liberation of auschwitz, survivors of nazi terror. >> irene weiss. >> i was five and a half when i arrived to auschwitz. >> returning with david muir to make sure the world never forgets the holocaust. >> the world needs to know. >> a concentration camp where more than a million people were killed. >> the horrible, bloodcurdling screaming and praying. >> their incredible stories of not just surviving but thriving after liberation. "nightline," the children of auschwitz will be right back.

we rso why not geternet the most out of it?

introducing faster download speeds on xfinity internet tiers. and a smarter, more secure home wifi network. plus, you can get xfinity flex, a personalized streaming dashboard that puts all your favorites in one place. unleash the power of xfinity internet and get more value than ever. now that's simple, easy, awesome. get started for $34. 99 a month for 12 months and add a flex 4k streaming device on us. click, call or visit a store today. 75 years later, the stories from inside this gate are no less haunting. the electric fences still standing from one of the world's darkest times, when families and children were lined up, brought here by the nazis, in this piece of video, some of the youngest faces, the survivors, and we wanted to find them. >> my name is tova freedman.

i was 5 and a half when i arrived to auschwitz. >> i was four year old. >> i was 13 years old when my family and i arrived in auschwitz. >> i was 11 when i arrived in auschwitz. >> i'm claire i was 8 years old. >> i was 16. >> my name is lois. i was 16 when we came to auschwitz. >> reporter: for 75 years, they have quietly made new lives all over america. devoted to their jobs, to their families, to their history. more than 1.1 million people were killed by the nazis in auschwitz, nearly a million were jews. >> this is me. i'm 6 and a half. >> reporter: tova is on the far left. tova's mother tried to protect her daughter in the face of such

evil. your mother never lied to you. >> never lied to me. from the very moment i could understap understand, maybe i was 3 or 4 years old, she was telling me what was going on. >> she was doing it to protect you. >> when i see a german moving toward me, move to the side. never, never she said to me, face a soldier and no eye contact. don't look into his eyes. that's what she told me. >> reporter: she remembers the day, what her parents said. >> we're going to ah swits. the trains were waiting. the noise was impossible. the screaming of the people, crying. people knew where they were going. >> reporter: and when they arrive at >> she pointed to the crematory.

there was smoke. i knew what she meant. i got undressed, and i'm saying to her to her, how am i? how do i look? she says you'll be okay. >> reporter: tova and her mother are separated. so few children survive. but the ones who did describe the same crushing moment, the separation. irene with a scarf around her head. her family brought in on a cattle car, too. >> all of a sudden the crowd moved and we went up. >> reporter: her family was next. >> separation was in ten seconds. my mother and two little boys were immediately sent one way. and i suddenly realized something very terrible happened to our family. >> reporter: she would never see her mother again. and she watched as women and children were sent to the gas chamber. >> the horrible, bloodcurdling screaming and praying, and i blocked my ears with my fingers

because of the incredible anguish. and soon, it was quiet. and within a very short time i could hear the train, the next train and the next train. >> we want to see when are we going to see our mothers? we want to see our mothers. >> reporter: lois pleaded for her mother, too. >> she says oh, you want to see your mothers? you see the smoke over there? that's where your mothers are. >> they all went to the right. and they sent me to the left. and i never saw the family again. it was everything in a rush. each officer had a cane in his hand, and he said "make it fast." it was shocking that all of a sudden you see that you are alone. and just before you were with your parents. there was nobody to cry to.

>> reporter: tova's tears were silent, too. and she remembers getting the tattoo. >> what's your name? i gave them my name. she says that's not your name anymore. your name is 27,633. and she said you have to memorize it. if you don't answer to this, you'll be shot. >> reporter: and to this day you remember the number. 27,000. >> this is my number. >> reporter: peter remembers arriving, too. he's on the left. he was a twin, which meant there was a new kind of horror. dr. joseph mengele experiments on children. they would ask for twins. >> first, my mother didn't know what to say. second time, third time, she said yes, i do have twins. and immediately, two soldiers grabbed us, and i had no chance, even the slightest chance to say

good-bye to my mother. and that's the last time i saw her. >> reporter: so few children were spared at tova remembers when it was her turn. >> i went to the crematorium. i remember. i didn't mind. because they gave us something delicious to eat in the morning. and i hear my name. and i said to myself, who knows my name? must be my mother. >> reporter: her mother, separated months before, sees tova through the fence. she asks, where are you going? >> and i said to the crematorium. and they started screaming. and i remember turning to the little girl next to me, and i said why are they screaming? every jewish child goes there, so now we're going there. >> reporter: tova arrives. >> go down the steps. and then you open this door, and there's a gigantic room with a

cement floor. and all around are hooks. hooks with numbers. and this is the announcement. get undressed. look at the hook, the number that you put in your clothes, because after you have the showers, you will find your clothes again. >> reporter: that's what they would tell the children before they were gassed. but suddenly, tova remembers chaos, shouting. they ordered them to get dress the again. something had gone wrong in the crematorium. she would walk back. >> and i hear my mother's voice again. my name. she says what happened? and i remember say beiing in a loud voice. they didn't do it this time. they'll do it next time. >> reporter: the soviets were closing in. the nazis began sending thousands on death marches. some of the most desperate running toward the fences. >> the worst part is when you see people running to the

electric fence that was unforgettable scenery for us. >> reporter: but amid the madness and chaos, tova's mother finds her. they stay behind, hiding in a women's hospital among the bodies. >> get in. so i got in without asking anything. and she maneuvered my face so that my breath was toward the floor. i don't know how long it took, but i heard germans coming in, shooting, shooting. i could hear the boots. i always heard those german boots. i stopped breathing. they moved on. >> reporter: the nazis left, setting the place on fire. >> then i smelled smoke. and then my mother took off the blanket and said to me, they're gone. just those words. they're gone. >> reporter: you had survived. the survivors tell us they will never forget that day. >> i said to myself, finally, we

are free. you have no idea what that feeling is for a 11-year-old kid. >> reporter: and when they find david marx, he, like so many of the children, was too weak to show any joy. >> we didn't have the strength to be happy or grieve. could you have the work. you had to work. >> reporter: january 27, 1945. >> the russians liberated us. they came in. >> reporter: and from then on you considered that day your birthday. >> absolutely. >> reporter: and in that photo with tova, on the far right, michael bornstein, who was in the infirmary. he survived, too. and years later they would meet, and he's about to turn the corner again. >> hey, tova, how are you? >> reporter: the only reason michael is here is because he was in the infirmary when the soviets arrived. you were saved by sickness. >> that's right. >> reporter: michael's mother like tova's always told him the

truth. she would always say, this, too, shall pass. his father was killed. his mother was sent to another camp. but he and his grandmother would survive and months later, walking through their old town they spot his mother, who had made it back from that labor camp. >> my mother just disbelief, because she never thought she would find me again. >> reporter: her son was alive. >> yes. >> reporter: his mother would save all of herma money, and wh he was a teenager she gave him a watch which he carries with him today. >> it has hebrew letters that stand for "this, too, shall pass". >> reporter: those words from his mother again, this too shall pass. and 75 years later, the children in that image, tova and michael together. do you consider yourselves lucky

to have found each other? >> i think it's a miracle. >> reporter: they can going back to auschwitz. >> there's lois who waited to tell her own children. >> when my children were little, they only asked me once, how come their friends have grandparents and they don't. so i started crying. and my children never asked me another question. >> reporter: now, lois on the plane going back. >> i didn't want to go back at all. but this is something different. >> reporter: and claire hymann who always believed the reason she and other children survived was their strength. she thought even then, we must get out. >> i had the willpower. i had a lot of willpower. i said we have to survive to tell the world what's going on.

we have to do that. otherwise nobody would believe us. >> reporter: peter is preparing to go back too. but this time he says he will not believe that sign over the gate which says work will set you free. >> it means work makes you free. don't ever believe it. >> reporter: peter is going back, because he says with every year that goes by, there are fewer survivors to tell their story. >> i came to the realization that within ten to 15 years, there will be no eyewitness survivors to tell the story of the holocaust as an eyewitnesses. people can come around and say hey, it never happened. and here we are to say, yes, it did happen because of me. we're eyewitnesses. >> reporter: when we come back, the children of auschwitz return, and what they find when they get there.

this special edition of "nightline" continues in a moment. i have moderate to severe pnow, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin ♪ yeah that's all me. ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin ♪ that's my new plan. ♪ nothing is everything. keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪ i see nothing in a different way ♪ ♪ and it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ask your dermatologist about skyrizi.

♪ hey allergy muddlers... achoo! ...do your sneezes turn heads? try zyrtec... ...it starts working hard at hour one... and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. zyrtec muddle no more. break out the butter loif you've been dreaming aboutr tender wild-caught lobster, dig in to butter-poached, fire-roasted and shrimp & lobster linguini. see? dreams do come true. or if you like a taste of new england without leaving home, try lobster, sautéed with crab, jumbo shrimp and more, or maybe you'd like to experience the ultimate surf and the ultimate turf... with so many lobster dishes, there's something for every lobster fan so hurry in and let's lobsterfest. or get pick up or delivery at redlobster.com before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, lucy could only imagine enjoying a slice of pizza. now it's as easy as pie. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection.

can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? for all-day, all-night protection. wean air force veteran made of doing what's right,. not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage.

that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa

>> reporter: it is a long and painful journey, 75 years later, but the children of auschwitz, the survivors, believe they have a duty to remind the world how devastating unchecked hate can be. irene weiss who made a new life in america, a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, making her way back. we are with them as they board the flight. >> enjoy your flight. >> thank you. >> reporter: michael bornstein with the watch his mother gave

him. >> thank you. >> reporter: and lois, ready too. david marx, the carpenter from sherman, connecticut, a father, grandfather and great grandfather, remembering the list of survivors all those years ago. >> they brought lists from each camp, and they printed it, and they put it out so you should see who survived. >> reporter: now he will see them in person. it's his first trip back. they board the bus in poland. one hour to auschwitz. 75 years later, they are back. they slowly walk through that gate, and they walk proud. survivors who have returned with a message. and we see tova. tova. >> oh, hi. >> reporter: and tova puts to words why they have all come back. >> that we didn't forget. that i remember the little girl going into the treatmecrematori she wouldn't come back, that i played with. >> reporter: you remember them.

>> i will remember. that's what it is, we remember. >> reporter: and there's david marx, who has never gone back. >> but now it's, i'm getting in the fourth quarter of my life. >> reporter: he lived in barrack 21 in auschwitz. years later, he did not tell his own children. they never saw the tattoo. >> they never saw the tattoo. >> reporter: at 91, he now says it's different. >> they should know what happened. they should know that never again. >> reporter: and tova, who bravely went inside the crematorium. she said, it is important the next generation see this, and while inside she offers a prayer for the dead. >> pray for the dead.

say a prayer for all these people. >> reporter: and then, she asks her family to go in, too. >> go all the way. >> okay. >> until the oven. >> it's not okay to destroy somebody who doesn't think like you, doesn't look like you, doesn't believe in religion like you. >> reporter: tova's daughter-in-law sarah when she comes out. why was it important for sarah? >> she's a generation that has to teach her children. she's mother of my grandchildren. >> reporter: and lois, carrying the same message she shares with school children back home. >> do not discriminate. do not look at religion. do not look at color. do not look at nationality. treat everybody the way you want to be treated. and, if you do that, things will

be okay. otherwise, it can happen the same thing as it happened to me. >> reporter: lois is proud of the new life she made in the u.s. she has three children, five grandchildren, 12 great grand children and now a 13th on the way. >> hitler destroyed my whole family. he tried to kill me also. he is dead. and i built a beautiful family. that i'm very proud of. that's it. that's my life. >> reporter: and like so many of the survivors, tova says she is here so that the world will not forget. the world needs to know this can't happen. >> the world needs to know, and to beware of the evil, to stop the evil before it spreads.

and this is the end of evil. it tender wild-caught lobster, dig in to butter-poached, fire-roasted and shrimp & lobster linguini. see? dreams do come true. or if you like a taste of new england without leaving home, try lobster, sautéed with crab, jumbo shrimp and more, or maybe you'd like to experience the ultimate surf and the ultimate turf... with so many lobster dishes, there's something for every lobster fan so hurry in and let's lobsterfest. or get pick up or delivery at redlobster.com quitting smoking is freaking hard.st, like quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so, try making it smaller. and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small... ...can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

(whistling) you have power over pain, so the whole world looks different. the unbeatable strength of advil. what pain?

in 2016 i warned thatt donald trump was a dangerous demagogue, and when the republican congress wouldn't hold him accountable, i went to work helping run winning campaigns in twenty-one house seats. it's time for the senate to act and remove trump from office, and if they won't do their jobs, this november you and i will. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message.

for some of the survivors we

documented tonight, it was their first time back to auschwitz, and many told me likely their last. every year we lose more survivors of the holocaust, which is why they say they made this trip, to keep their story alive and offer the very personal stories about the dangers of unchecked hate. for abc news, goodnight.

actions speak louder than words. she was a school teacher. my dad joined the navy and helped prosecute the nazis in nuremberg. their values are why i walked away from my business, took the giving pledge to give my money to good causes, and why i spent the last ten years fighting corporate insiders who put profits over people. i'm tom steyer, and i approve this message. because, right now, america needs more than words. we need action.