Miko Rosenzweig, 88, is the oldest Holocaust survivor living in Reuth’s Subsidized Housing Project. The housing complex has 185 residents, roughly half of whom are Holocaust survivors. Miko was born in Bucharest, Romania; when he was just nine years old, both his parents were killed in a bombshell.  He was taken in by a family of Gypsies with whom he lived until the end of the war in a small town outside of Budapest.  What he remembers from this time is that he was always hungry because the family was so poor.  Although the family saved his life, he could barely communicate with them because he did not speak their language.  Near the end of the war, Miko was located by the Joint Distribution Committee, which together with other services, arranged for Miko to take bar mitzvah lessons.  

After the war, Miko moved to Italy, where he made his living by singing in the streets.  In Italy he joined the Beitar movement, whose members inspired him to move to the newly established state of Israel.  His first journey in 1948 was aboard the Altalena; although the ship reached Israel, he was deported back to Italy by the British. His second voyage was successful, and upon his arrival in Israel, he was immediately drafted into the army to serve his new country.  Miko has spent his adult life as a professional singer.  Singing, he says, keeps him young and positive and confident about overcoming whatever obstacles he encounters.