Holocaust Survivors Take Center Stage For This Empowering Beauty Pageant

Recently, 14 women had their hair, makeup, and nails done before they took the runway to strut their stuff for a beauty pageant. But these weren't teens or ladies in their early 20s hoping for a chance at a scholarship: they were elderly women who have survived the Holocaust.

It may sound unusual, but this annual pageant is organized as a way to honor the survivors. It has been seen as a controversial event in the past, as some believe it to be disrespectful, but sponsors of the pageant have defended it as a way to let the women be treated like the beauty queens they are. They blew kisses, walked down a red carpet, and danced to "Pretty Woman," while smiling and truly living life to the fullest.

"Tonight we're letting some women who survived the Holocaust have something that was robbed from them in their youth," a sponsor of the event said. "We want to give something back to them, tonight, it's for them to enjoy."

The fifth annual pageant was held in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Over 300 survivors registered with just 14 finalists selected to walk the runway. Russian-born Anna Grinis, 75, was crowned the winner.

World War II broke out when she was just 2 days old, and she escaped the horrific Nazi regime with her mother. After surviving one of the most horrendous experiences in world history, she, along with her competitors, more than deserved to stand on the runway feeling like their most beautiful selves. See more images from the inspiring event here.