Dozens of Holocaust survivors shared their personal stories during a special gathering Thursday in Woodmere.

Holocaust survivor Bernard Igielski, of North Woodmere, says he came within inches of dying.

"I was destined for the gas chamber four times," Igielski says.

The 96-year-old was among a group of Holocaust survivors from the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC who were celebrated during a luncheon to commemorate Sukkot, a weeklong celebration in the Jewish calendar.

Felicia Kaufman’s husband survived several concentration camps as a young man. Kaufman says, "He was coming from the Jewish school, and he was grabbed by the Nazis."

Rabbi Yechezkem Freundlich added, "It's really a special privilege for us the younger generation to give honor to those who came before us and survived the most hellish place on earth, It's a great privilege."

Thursday's event was the fifth annual Holocaust survivors' luncheon at the Five Towns Premier Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Woodmere.