When I met Anita Dittman, the Ayatollah Khoumeini had just come on the scene. Who could have imagined what he would inspire? No one recognized the roots of rage. 

It was 1979 and there was no war on terror. President Carter had abandoned the Shah of Iran allowing  this menace, Khoumeini, to arise from obscurity and unite the Muslim world against the West.  But 35 years ago, no one could imagine American buildings pancaking down on themselves and wiping out 3,000 innocent civilians. Would that even have transpired had Carter handled the Khoumeni and Shah crisis more effectively?

As Anita and I began to write her book that year, we also had no idea that 35 years later the Jews of Ukraine would be on the run again just like they were under Hitler. History does repeat itself.  

Anita was a part of our "Understanding the Times Spring 2014" event Saturday, April 26.  More than 3,000 attendees were present from 15 states. She is now 87 years young and one of the few remaining voices to talk about an era few can imagine and even fewer remember.

Other conference participants included Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Pastor Skip Heitzig, and Eric Barger.  George Escobar introduced the new documentary film of Anita's life, "Trapped in Hitler's Hell: A Young Jewish Girl Discovers the Messiah's Faithfulness in the Midst of the Holocaust," just released by World Net Daily (WND).