The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor

by Eddie Jaku

‘If you are lucky enough to have money and a nice house, you can afford to help those who don’t,’ he would tell me. ‘This is what life is all about. To share your good fortune.’ My father used to say to me there is more pleasure in giving than in taking, that the important things in life – friends, family, kindness – are far more precious than money. A man is worth more than his bank account.

There are many things in this world that no amount of money will buy you, and some things priceless beyond measure. Family first, family second, and family at the last.

Tomorrow will come if you survive today. One step at a time.

This is the most important thing I have ever learned: the greatest thing you will ever do is be loved by another person.

Without friendship, a human being is lost. A friend is someone who reminds you to feel alive.

I knew that there would be no point surviving if I had to become an evil man to do it.