Saul Dreier {Courtesy}
A 99-year-old Coconut Creek resident who survived the Holocaust will share his incredible story of survival and music on May 16 in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.
Saul Dreier, founder of the Holocaust Survivors Band, was sent to the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp in his native Poland at age 16. The Nazis then moved him to a subcamp where he repaired radiators.
Amid the horrors of the Holocaust, Dreier found comfort in music. As part of a makeshift choir in the concentration camp, Dreier sang Jewish songs with fellow prisoners and played beats for their songs with two metal soup spoons.
“That’s how I learned to play the drums,” Dreier told The Washington Post for a January 2024 article.
Of his music, he said: “It helped me survive.”
In 1944, at age 20, Dreier was sent to Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. Liberated by U.S. troops in 1945, he would soon learn his parents and dozens of other relatives had been killed by the Nazis.
Dreier sailed to New York City in November 1949, married, and raised a family with his wife. Around ten years ago, he purchased a new set of drums and started his band, which has since played all over the world.
Dreier will share his story on Thursday, May 16th, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the City of Coconut Creek Commission Chambers, 4800 W. Copans Rd.
Limited spots are available. Would-be attendees should register by calling 954-956-1580.
“Saul’s journey embodies the spirit of survival and solidarity,” the city of Coconut Creek said in a Facebook post announcing the event.
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