Holocaust Survivor's Baseball Game Wish Finally Gets Granted

And we couldn't be happier for her.

This past weekend, 89-year-old Hermina Hirsch stood on a baseball field in front of a microphone. Less than two minutes later, she had finally fulfilled her lifelong wish.

Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor, sang the national anthem before the Detroit Tigers took on the Tampa Bay Rays on May 21. According to The Associated Press, the 89-year-old, who was born in Czechoslovakia, has dreamed of singing the patriotic tune at a Major League Baseball game. That dream finally came true at Comerica Park in Detroit, where she was surrounded by family, friends and fellow Tigers fans.

Hermina Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor, performed the national anthem on May 21 before the Detroit Tigers took on the Tampa Bay Rays.
Hermina Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor, performed the national anthem on May 21 before the Detroit Tigers took on the Tampa Bay Rays.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

As The Associated Press reports, Hirsch was sent to five different concentration camps, including Auschwitz, when she was 17 years old and was liberated in 1945. In an interview with ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, her granddaughter, Andrea Hirsch, said that the national anthem is especially significant for her grandmother.

"It's one of her favorite songs just because she's so patriotic," she said. "Just because of everything that she's been through and how she got here."

Hirsch was surrounded by friends and family during her performance, including her husband.
Hirsch was surrounded by friends and family during her performance, including her husband.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

On Sunday, Hirsch's granddaughter also thanked friends, family and fans of her grandmother's performance for their support and wrote on Facebook that her grandmother "is such an inspiration."

"There's so much hate in this world, and this is positivity at its finest," she wrote.

Watch part of Hirsch's performance below.

Before You Go

Holocaust Memorials

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot