She weighed 35 pounds at age 10.

Her mother weighed less than 70 pounds at age 37.

They were the lucky ones.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan and her family survived six and a half years in refugee and prison camps, including the well-known Bergen-Belsen, in Germany during World War II.

Lazan, her parents and her older brother all survived the religious persecution of the Holocaust until the camps were liberated in 1945.

Today, to ensure that her story is not forgotten, the 72-year-old travels the country as a reminder of what the world is capable of doing.

“The whole of the Holocaust must be taught, must be studied and must be kept alive,” she said. “Only then can it be prevented from happening again.”

Lazan is sharing her story with central Illinois this week and will make a stop at the Wesley United Methodist Church tonight.

Since publishing a book about her life during the Holocaust in 1996, she has been traveling the country, giving first-hand accounts of her experiences during the war and trying to teach younger generations about the history that was her life.

“I’m very grateful that the story is in book form, so it can be passed on to future generations,” she said “People of all ages need to be reminded that this actually did happen.”

Her book, “Four Perfect Pebbles,” is used as part of the curriculum in many schools, giving Lazan the opportunity to speak with those younger generations.

“Someday, it is these students who will have to bear witness,” she said.

She tries to teach the idea that society must respect and tolerate differences.

“We have to begin with our children and treat people as individuals and respect the differences between people,” Lazan said.

She herself learned she could not generalize her feelings toward a group of people when she returned to Germany 50 years after the liberation of the concentration camps.

“I didn’t want any part of Germany, didn’t want any part of that language,” she said. “I never thought I would refer to non-Jewish Germans as friends of ours.”

But today, Lazan and her husband, Nathaniel, have good friends in Germany.

“It goes to show you we must not generalize and judge people because of the group they are members of,” she said.

Wesley United Methodist Church wants the community to hear and learn what Lazan has to teach at tonight’s event, said Donna Hudson, member of the committee sponsoring Lazan’s visit.

“Our group thought that it would be a beautiful idea to have Marion come and speak to us about her experiences with the Holocaust because there are not very many people in the United States who know what religious persecution is from first-hand experience,” Hudson said.

Lazan was scheduled to speak in Charleston about this time last year, Hudson said, but had to cancel because of an injury.

“We were thrilled to find out she was available to come this year,” Hudson said. “She is a lovely lady; she’s just delightful.”

Lazan is looking forward to returning to central Illinois, an area she became familiar with after immigrating to the United States.

In 1948, she moved to Peoria with her mother and brother. Her father made it out of Bergen-Belsen, but died six weeks later of typhus.

She was placed in the fourth grade in Peoria with 9-year-olds because she didn’t speak English.

Summer school mixed with her stubbornness to not be left behind helped her graduate at the top of her high school class at age 18.

“I enjoy going back to Peoria,” Lazan said. “I’ve done that many times.”

After graduating, she married Nathaniel and started her family, which has grown to include three children and nine grandchildren.

She has lived in New York for 47 years with her husband. Her 99-year-old mother also lives in her own apartment in New York, and her 74-year-old brother lives in California.

“When I show the picture with all my grandchildren, it just shows continuity and survival,” Lazan said.

She wants everyone to know that with perseverance and strong will, anything is possible.

At 72, she lives a life of traveling and talking about the hardest part of her past every day.

“It’s exhausting, but – I must tell you – always, always gratifying,” Lazan said. “With the help of my husband, Nathaniel, we’ll just keep doing this as long as we’re able.”

Lazan will speak in the sanctuary of Wesley United Methodist Church at 2206 4th St. at 7 p.m. today, with a reception to follow.

Copies of her book, “Four Perfect Pebbles,” will be available for $5.