(Courtesy of Cong. Agudath Sholom) On September 24, the Stamford community received the tragic news that one of its long-time residents, 72-year-old Erwin Reich, was hit by a car and killed while jogging.

To honor his memory, Michael Feldstein will be giving a special Jewish history class on Wednesday, October 21, at 8 p.m. via Zoom, as part of a regularly scheduled weekly class at Congregation Agudath Sholom. The title of the class is, “Jews and Medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Search for a Polio Vaccine.”

Feldstein said, “Erwin loved history, and he also was an incredibly proud Jew. He grew up in Romania, and came to the United States as a youngster. He was passionate about his family … his country … and his religion. Therefore, I thought a Jewish history class in his memory would be a fitting tribute.”

Both of Erwin’s parents, and wife, Veronica’s, parents, were Holocaust survivors, and Erwin was very interested in their history, their genealogy and honoring the memories of those lost in the Holocaust. In fact, Erwin and Veronica had a trip planned to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum last April, but had to cancel because of the coronavirus pandemic. Erwin was also in the middle of writing a book about his family’s history in Romania.

The Reichs moved to Stamford in the late 1970s, and have been active members of the Jewish community for more than 40 years. Veronica, who is a lawyer by profession, served on the executive board at Congregation Agudath Sholom. Erwin was an engineer at Chevron for many years, and had been working as a consultant.

Feldstein said that Erwin would have liked the class that he is preparing about Dr. Jonas Salk. “Erwin always was very proud of Jews who achieved success in our country, and who were not ashamed of their religion,” said Feldstein.

To log on to the class, please visit www.zoom.us/j/7052940733. Password is 015824.