On International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020, Israel welcomed dozens of world leaders to Jerusalem to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auchwitz.

Prominent dignitaries arrived from around the world. But apparently, most Holocaust survivors couldn’t participate due to space constraints.

At the time, songwriter Yoav Ginai (“Diva”, “Light a Candle”, and many others) was disgusted by countless articles about Holocaust survivors living in poverty. But the scene on January 23, 2020 was the last straw. On April 20th, he published a song called “The Last Survivor” in Israel’s “Yisrael Hayom” newspaper, stressing Israel’s requirement to take care of its survivors.

When singer Arkadi Duchin saw it, the song was too powerful to ignore. So he got to work composing the melody for the song, and “The Last Survivor” was born – just in time for Yom HaShoah 2021.

“To me this is a super important song – to remember, to respect, and to tell the world,” Duchin said. “And not only here in Israel, but it is my duty to translate it into dozens of languages of the nations of the world.”

The words of the song tell of a day in which the last Holocaust survivor passes away:

“I’m the last survivor, so look me in the eye
The last one who still testifies in the first person and also remembers every detail
I am the last survivor looking now at the sky
All my sisters and all my brothers have already parted, slowly dissolving…”

This powerful song couldn’t be more relevant on Yom HaShoah, a day on which we remember the atrocities endured by many of Israel’s oldest citizens. We also can’t help but note that the time Duchin sings of is not all that far away.

“HaSored HaAcharon” Translated Lyrics from LyricsTranslate.com >>
(With thanks to Moshe Kaye!)