Each year there are fewer Holocaust survivors, and fewer opportunities to learn about their experiences. Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Middlesex County has partnered with the Bridge Turkish & Mediterranean Grill in Highland Park to offer community members an evening of conversation with local Holocaust survivors on Tuesday, September 17 at 6 p.m.. Attendees are welcome to join in any time between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to speak with the survivors while enjoying a delicious dinner chosen from the Bridge’s regular menu offerings.
This event is a rare opportunity to listen to three survivors and engage in candid discussion with them on a deeply personal level. Participants will hear about history directly from those who lived through it and learn their perspectives on the challenges facing the global Jewish community today.
Michael Garber, front end manager of the Bridge, approached JFS with the idea following a grant-funded celebration lunch the JFS arranged for Holocaust survivors in June. A regular customer noticed the JFS group and noted that he would love to hear more about their lives.
“School-age children get to meet survivors via the ‘Names Not Numbers©’ projects at various day schools; people of a certain age remember their parents, neighbors and community members who were survivors or family of survivors,” Garber said. “Compounded with the reticence of some survivors to talk about their experiences, there is a knowledge gap in certain generations or parts of the population of first hand Holocaust information. This meal provides a singular opportunity to get to know these incredible individuals in an informal setting.”
Judith Cavaliere, JFS business development director, has been working with Holocaust survivors for over 14 years. “The survivor population in Middlesex County is growing as many of them move to the senior living communities in Monroe. There are over 200 in the county, and that numbers among the largest populations in the state. Their strength of purpose is amazing; we can learn so much from them and we should take every opportunity to do so while they are healthy enough to share their experiences.”
The survivors who will be at this program include Monroe’s Bill Schrimmer, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday and will talk about his experiences in Germany; Helen Gurkov of Edison and Lois Flamholz of Monroe. Holocaust Survivor Services Coordinator Fay Ross noted that it is gratifying to see how much interest there is in what the survivors have to say. “Their resilience is amazing. Although they may be physically frail, they want the world to know what happened.”
It is important to continue to share the survivors’ stories, especially as their numbers continue to decline. Ross shared the following stories with The Jewish Link during a phone interview: One survivor told the heartbreaking story of what happened to his family, who had been citizens of Germany for 200 years. They were all deeply embedded and attached to their “motherland,” and could not understand how “Mutti” could uproot them from their homes, schools and professions. “They never saw it coming,” she said. “Despite Hitler’s rise to power, they were sure things would work out.” The family was able to get to South America and rebuild their lives. Another survivor from Poland was in seven concentration camps along with his brothers. Amazingly, all the brothers survived because one of them was a talented soccer player from the Polish national team. The concentration camp officers seemed to recognize the famous soccer player and the brothers were not treated as severely.
“I’d like to see a full house at this event,” Ross said. “We see increases in antisemitism in the world around us and it is critical to support Jewish causes. For adults, especially those with students of college age, hearing what the survivors have to say is quite relatable to current events.”
“The survivors won’t be around in five or 10 years, or their cognitive abilities may decline.” Roni Salkin, JFS’ executive director added. “We need to hear them now. With everything going on in the world, it is more important now than ever to hear from the survivors of the Holocaust who are still here, so the past is not repeated. JFS is committed to ensuring our survivors have the opportunity to inspire the next generation with their spirit of resilience and love.”
Sam Eriske, the Bridge’s owner, added that this is a program he is eager to attend. “I also want to learn about what the survivors experienced and what happened.”
JFS suggests that attendees make a donation that will go directly to their Holocaust Survivor Services. Space is limited; please RSVP to JFS to reserve your seat. The official deadline is September 6, but readers of The Jewish Link should contact JFS asap at 732-777-1940 or [email protected].
