Incredible moment Dachau concentration camp survivor meets the man who rescued her after 70 years

Writer's headline: Concentration camp survivor meets one of his rescuers - his reaction will overwhelm you

For as long as human civilizations have existed, wars have been infested. Battles of ego and power have always led to communal wars. While the "leaders" send out orders for such tragic wars, the citizens, the pawns in this game of chess, suffer in reality. Some lose their lives, while others lose everything. Nonetheless, there is no going back from the trauma that a warfare can give you. Similarly, Joshua Kaufman, who once lost everything in a war, reunited with Daniel Gillespie, one of his rescuers, in an emotional reunion, per History Channel.

It was during World War II when guns were blaring and killing off thousands who came in their way. The war was raging in full swing with no sign of either of the parties winning, hinting that more destruction was underway. It was April 29, 1945, when Joshua Kaufman, a Dachau concentration camp slave, had almost given in to his fate and accepted that he would die like several other captives. But destiny had different plans. The captives heard loud noises coming from outside, and a few American liberators, including Daniel Gillespie, a gunner with the 42nd Rainbow Division, were about to enter the camp.

Dachau concentration camp, which had been set 12 miles outside Munich, Germany, welcomed the liberators with a shocking sight of rotting dead bodies packed within dozens of railroad cars. As they walked inside, they saw even more dead bodies and about 30,000 captives on the verge of malnourishment. Most of these survivors had been transferred from other camps after the Germans realized that their allies were coming near. Kaufman, who had lost his family in the Auschwitz concentration camp, was one of them. When the Government Issues (G.I.s) arrived to save them, Kaufman was hiding in a cattle wagon outside the camp, trying to save himself from a possible attack at any moment.

“Through a little hole in the wall, I saw American soldiers coming with their tanks and I saw the Germans running away. To me, the American soldiers were proof that God exists and they were sent down from the sky,” Kaufman said. About 70 years later, Kaufman and one of his rescuers, Gillespie, reunited. The reunion was arranged by the History Channel for a documentary, “The Liberators: Why They Fought,” written and directed by Emanuel Rotstein.

“I don't forget the day when you opened the cattle wagon, and you freed me,” Kaufman expressed his gratitude to Gillespie by kneeling and kissing his shoes. He added, “I have wanted to do this for 70 years. I love you. I love you so much.” The video posted by LOCAL 12 on YouTube gave more background. Gillespie shared his side of the story, too. He conveyed that the sight of the camp was “the most profound shock of my life.” Also, he mentioned how his contribution to the liberation of the situation became a life-changing event for him. He continued, "When I first saw those people and how they were treated, [it] was the first time I thought being a soldier is a definite something that is good."

After the war had concluded, Kaufman served as a soldier in Israel and immigrated to America soon after. There, he got married, had three children and started his own plumbing business. He was surprised to know that he was living only a few miles away from his savior, Gillespie, all these years. “I came out of hell into the light for that, and to [Gillespie], I am eternally grateful,” Kaufman concluded.