This Holocaust Survivor Has a Powerful Message For America After Charlottesville

It took President Donald Trump a whole three days to outright acknowledge the racism and bigotry that took place after neo-Nazis and white supremacists triggered violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 and 13. In his first statement on Aug. 12, he neglected to condemn the group and blamed the "many sides" of the demonstrations, essentially placing those who counterprotested Nazis on the same level as the neo-Nazis. In the same amount of time it took Trump to condemn racism, 89-year-old Marianne Rubin showed up to a rally in Union Square with a sign that said it all: "I escaped the Nazis once. You will not defeat me now."

In an interview with CBS news on Aug. 14, Rubin explained how her family first escaped the Holocaust by going to France and then eventually came to the US. To her, raising her family in America was a lucky blessing. After seeing how the events unfolded in Charlottesville, Rubin thinks "parents need to do more to teach their children to love, not hate." You can watch the video in full ahead.

Rubin didn't shy away from placing blame directly on Trump, either. "It's sad. It's terrible. All I can say is it's so bad that they don't want, that they voted for him." The image of Rubin with her sign quickly went viral, and it's no wonder why: her message is one all Americans should remember when confronted with such a display of hatred.