The annual Teaneck Holocaust Commemoration, held at Bergenfield High School, was attended by over 800 people who came to hear Holocaust survivor, and author of “Daughter of Auschwitz,” Tova Friedman tell her story of survival.
The program opened with committee co-chair Chani Jaskoll recounting the horrible situation in Israel and pledging that we will not rest until all of the hostages are free. Steve Fox, president of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Teaneck, told the crowd that he is part of a unique sandwich generation, having had a father who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto and became a partisan and a son who is an IDF veteran who served three months in the reserves after October 7. He also offered information about the new configuration of the proposed Northern New Jersey Holocaust Memorial & Education Center.
Felicia Grossman, co-chair of the event, introduced Tova Friedman, who endured eight months as a child inmate in Auschwitz and narrowly escaped death on numerous occasions. She ultimately survived by hiding among the corpses to avoid the infamous death march at the end of the war. The 85 year old child survivor eloquently and in great detail described her horrifying experiences to the captivated audience.
The program also included music by the students of TABC’s Studio 1600, as well as music of the Shoah by singer and musician Jonathan Rimberg and violinist Stephanie Kurzman. A special candle lighting ceremony by a five-generation legacy family, led by 97 year old patriarch Norbert Strauss, whose family escaped Germany after Kristallnacht, presented a poignant, meaningful segment in the program. Tehillim was recited by Rabbi Elliot Schrier, rabbi of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun, who recounted seeing piles of shoes of murder victims in Kibbutz Be’eri, which was reminiscent of those displayed in concentration camps. AJ Schreiber led the gathering in Kaddish and Kel Maaleh Rachamim, while a long list of names of victims of the Shoah related to local families scrolled on the screen.
This annual event is the largest Holocaust commemoration in New Jersey. For more information, visit teaneckyomhashoa.org.
