Holocaust Memorial Day this year in Israel spans April 23-24. I met a Holocaust survivor a few decades ago, and I may never be the same. When I connected with Anita Dittman, I had her recount her harrowing story. She captivated me. Had you met her, you might never be the same either.
Anita and I spent weeks together as she relayed a story of deprivation, marginalization, starvation, separation, loneliness, isolation, fear, and faith. How could this woman, then in her 50s, even stand up straight? She had lifted 100-pound items as a teenager as the Nazis perpetrated forced labor on her and her mother. They had been abandoned by her Aryan father.
She had made two failed escapes from concentration camps. She didn’t have sufficient food for 12 years. At one point, she sent all of her meager rations to her mother, who entered a camp before Anita was taken.
Once in a camp herself months later, Anita chopped down trees in a forest in the bitter winter with barely enough clothing on. At the end of the war, she walked across part of Europe on a wounded and infected leg to see if her mother had survived Camp Theresienstadt.
God’s Breathtaking Intervention
Was I just looking at a living miracle? I think so—and this survival story would go on to leave a lasting mark on millions of people. A fertile imagination could not make up the scenes and scenarios that were a part of her life from ages 5 to 17. God’s constant intervention was nothing less than breathtaking.
Tyndale House published Angels in the Camp in 1980 – just one version of a book that would have almost a 40-year lifespan, assorted publishers, and more than one title. Books have short shelf lives. Only a few classic stories survive the test of time, as has Anita Dittman’s story.
The Messiah’s Faithfulness
Anita’s book, now titled Trapped in Hitler’s Hell: A Young Jewish Girl Discovers the Messiah’s Faithfulness in the Midst of the Holocaust, has affected people around the world, of all ages. Grade school children sat motionless as she related her ordeal in person until age 88. They have no concept of war, concentration camps, deprivation, and starvation. They don’t know the meaning of the word separation other than waving goodbye as they head to summer camp.
Teenagers who lead a carefree life were stunned at her testimony and wrote her from many countries. Their world knows nothing of the dreaded knock on the door when family members are hauled off by the jack-booted, heartless Gestapo.
Demonstrating God’s Forgiveness
Every fall Anita Dittman stood behind a book table at my annual prophecy conference and signed hundreds of her books, now published by Lighthouse Trails. A German lady came up to her one year and wept. She apologized for the insanity of the Third Reich. What were they thinking? Anita always forgave these folks.
When Government Becomes God
The decades have raced by, but during that time, millions more have learned that letting government become god as the Germans did is not a good idea. Today in 2025, she would be 96 if she were still alive. Her life verse was Romans 8:28 – that all things do work together for good for those who love God. Anita reminded every audience of that. That we really are under the shadow of His protective wings (Psalm 91:4).
Never Again Is Now
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, is just a few days away this year, and Jews of the world will collectively say, “Never again!” In Israel, cars will stop when a siren wails, and many will stand at attention wherever they are. Israeli children will climb off their toys and stand motionless for two minutes.
Yet a world without God will continue to oppress and persecute. The targets will be heavily Jews and Christians. Please don’t forget those who languish under deplorable conditions, and never forget that one single tyrant can unleash a nightmare on millions of innocent people.
Hating Jews is the oldest pastime. It’s the oldest hatred. It not only never dies, it gets worse every year. That is evident from the carnage on October 7, 2023, near Gaza. Not everyone will even finish reading this article. It is just of little interest to many. Or, they have sympathy for Hamas.
The Holocaust is ancient history—and yet it keeps resurfacing in different times and places. But in 2025, it is accentuated as the world cheers for Hamas and denounces the Jews.
I never thought I would see the day. Nor did you if you are honest. “Never again” is now, as we race towards the Tribulation, when the Jews will be the focus of the Antichrist and his short-term kingdom. Today is just a warm-up act.
Terry James Prophecy Line 
“I never thought I would see the day. Nor did you if you are honest. “Never again” is now, as we race towards the Tribulation, when the Jews will be the focus of the Antichrist and his short-term kingdom. Today is just a warm-up act.”
Jan Markell is right about what we’re seeing now as a warm-up act, pre-tribulation. Bravo to Jan for remembering Anita Dittman’s story of the Holocaust, and the persecution in the Nazi death camps–Hitler’s Hell!
It’s worth noting what she did to make the statement, “NEVER FORGET”, a truism less another generation never will know man’s Inhumanity to man. The Nazis were demonically possessed and influenced with their savage pursuit of creating a Master Race. A 1000-year reign of a Third Reich–a direct blasphemous antichrist construct to Christ’s 1000-year Millennial reign!
That Israel came to exist as a nation again in fulfillment of prophecy had to be one of, if not the greatest miracle of our time. That it still exists and prospers despite its enemies trying to destroy it at its very birth and in all the years since is another example of God’s unwavering promise that Israel will exist as long as the earth, sun and the moon – even though it will once again undergo the worst threat to its existence in the last seven years of history as we know it.
One day it will be the premier nation of the world, no longer the tail, but the head.
Antisemitism is a reality the Jewish people have faced throughout history which seems ever present. I believe however swift judgement upon the forces of Gog/Magog of Ezekiel 38/39 will bring Israel in a more secure position however brief.
When one examines popular opinion regarding the Jewish people and modern Eschatology, there seems to be visible antisemitism.
Firstly, many scholars believe the construction of the Third Temple as strictly a profane structure and the sacrifices profane as well. The Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 clearly identifies this Temple as a Temple of God not a profane structure. The sacrifices under this definition are also not profane. If then they were an abomination until the Lord surely the AntiChrist would not stop them.
Secondly, some scholars claim that Israel will recognize the AntiChrist as their long awaited Messiah yet the evidence suggests otherwise. Zechariah chapters 12 & 14 clearly prove that Israel was never a willing participant for the AntiChrist, in fact, they alone resist while all nations are gathered against them.
Thirdly, their our those that claim the AntiChrist will grant permission for Israel to build the Third Temple thru a supposed peace plan yet there is no scriptural support for this at all. The confirmation of this covenant found in Daniel 9 does not identify what it consists of nor the parties involved. Those making these claims do so again with no scriptural support.
While it seems that some scholars suggest Israel to be the source of idolatry in a profane Temple and that their suffering in the 70th week is justified, I beg to differ. It is clear that such ignorance is derived from lack of biblical knowledge and a hatred for the Jewish people. These same scholars dismiss the facts associated with the Gog/Magog battle of Ezekiel 38/39. Why would Israel require any covenant from the AntiChrist for security when their enemies are laid waste by the Hand of God? The nations and Israel will know it was God that delivered them, this is scriptural fact.
it seems Antisemitism can rear its ugly head even in eschatological circles.