SAN DIEGO — Next week, Ben Midler returns to a harrowing site he will never forget.

The 95-year-old San Diego resident is making his way back to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where around 1.1 million people perished during World War II, according to Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Midler’s entire family was murdered at that camp.

Midler, who was born in Bialystok, Poland, survived six concentration camps between the ages of 15 to 17, because he was able to work at the camps.

On Friday, he spoke to FOX 5 about the painful event.

“As a child, going through this experience, I had strong willpower to compartmentalize my emotions. My thoughts were to believe in God in the hope to reunite with my family,” Midler said.

Midler expressed that the loss of his youth could’ve killed him, but he says he used his faith to create a new life for him and his family, making himself a stronger person.

Midler’s journey to Auschwitz, from April 19-27 is part of a “Holocaust to Independence Mission” on the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel. The trip is hosted by Friends of the IDF (FIDF), an organization that provides for wellbeing of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), veterans and family members.

Midler also authored a book, “The Life of A Child Survivor from Bialystok, Poland,” where he talks about how he escaped concentration camps, executions squads and the gas chambers.

“I am compelled to speak about the Holocaust to schools, colleges and I’ve spoken to many branches of the U.S. Army. My goal is to not forget the atrocities that happened in the Holocaust and the effects of antisemitism,” Midler said.