MEDFORD, Ore.-- Anne Frank's childhood friend who later became her stepsister, Eva Schloss spoke to a crowded Medford Armory Monday night, an event sponsored by the Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon.

Event organizer Rabbi Avi Zwiebel has been trying to get Schloss to share her experience in Southern Oregon for years. Schloss is 90 years old and now lives in England. Monday, she shared how she met Anne Frank, their lives hiding from Nazis, their arrests, living in a concentration camp, and her own return to society after experiencing the unthinkable. Schloss said keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive isn't just about preserving the past. It's about building a better future.

"It's very powerful hearing it all first hand," Rabbi Avi Zwiebel said. "It's very emotional just being in this room right now. Words can't describe it. It's so palpable and so powerful."

Rabbi Zwiebel said Monday night's event was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Seeing so many people packed inside the Medford Armory gives him that people care and don't want history to repeat itself.