WATCH: Lea Koenig survived the Holocaust. Now she's speaking up for October 7th victims.

Lea Koenig is a 94 year old Holocaust survivor and Israeli theater legend, starring in a new video campaign launched by The Civil Advocacy Center - ISRAELI SPIRIT for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Her words weave the nightmare of the Shoah with the pain of October 7th. Shared in seven languages, Hebrew, English, Russian, German, Romanian, Polish, and Yiddish, this campaign hits hard, reminding the world why we say “Never Again.”

Lea Koenig isn’t just any survivor; she’s a giant in Israeli culture, the “First Lady of Theatre” with an Israel Prize from 1990. Born in Poland in 1929, she escaped the Holocaust’s clutches, fleeing to the Soviet Union where her family endured brutal hardship.

She landed in Israel in 1960, building a career that made her a household name. Now, at 94, she’s taken on a new role, giving voice to the victims of October 7th.

In the video, Koenig’s words pull you in: “I woke up to gunfire and shouting. The scary people shot my father, stabbed my mother in front of me. I hid in a closet for 15 hours to survive.”

You’re sure she’s talking about her own childhood, running from Nazis. Then she drops the bombshell: “My name is Lea Koenig. I survived the Holocaust. But this isn’t my story. It’s the story of hundreds of children and families murdered by Hamas on October 7. Now, I must tell their story.”

It’s a gut punch, linking the Holocaust’s six million dead to the 1,200 killed in 2023, including 36 kids, without pretending they’re the same.

The Campaign: Speaking to the World

The Civil Advocacy Center - ISRAELI SPIRIT, Israel’s public diplomacy arm, timed this campaign for Yom HaShoah, marking 80 years since Auschwitz’s liberation. By putting Koenig’s testimony in seven languages, they’re reaching Jews from Brooklyn to Berlin, plus nations like Germany where Holocaust memory runs deep. The choice of Yiddish, nearly killed off by the Nazis, and Russian, for Israel’s immigrant communities, makes it personal.

Koenig’s plea, “I must tell their story,” passes the torch from Holocaust survivors to October 7’s victims, like Omri Miran, whose family begs for his release.

As Yom HaShoah 2025 hits, her video pushes us to do more than remember: free hostages, teach truth, fight hate. “Never Again” isn’t a catchphrase; it’s a job, and Koenig’s voice, raw and real, reminds us to get it done.