Kathryn Nikkel was a 7-year-old child when Allied soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp where her family was being held in Austria.
Nikkel eventually moved to the United States, but a remarkable coincidence has put her in touch with someone who helped her gain freedom seven decades ago.
Nikkel's husband recently suffered from an aneurism, and has been recuperating in the Heritage Hall Rehabilitation Center in Leesburg.
While visiting there, she began talking to Salvatore Santoros, 96, who shared a room with her husband. After a short discussion, Nikkel realized that the man had been one of the soldiers that liberated that concentration camp so many years ago.
She said that she still has nightmares from her time in the camp, but she was glad to have the opportunity to shake hands with someone who had helped her.
"I just really so appreciate what you have done for people like me," she told Santoros.
Both said they would remain friends.
