On Sunday, May 7, the Sisterhood of The Jewish Center of the Upper West Side in Manhattan hosted an event entitled “Recipes of Hope and Healing,” featuring four survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau in a discussion about the creation of the cookbook “Honey Cake & Latkes.” The cookbook is a collection of recipes from survivors conveying their memories through the lens of food.

The discussion was moderated by the book’s editor, Dr. Maria Zalewska, executive director of The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation, which is chaired by Ronald Lauder. Zalewska opened the discussion by stating that there are three types of recipes in the book—recipes that evoke memories of Eastern Europe; recipes directly linked to the war experience; and postwar recipes that give us an understanding of how food and cooking allow survivors to process their trauma and establish lives in new places while incorporating food and memories from the past.

You could hear a pin drop in the packed room as the four survivors recalled their wartime experiences. Throughout the evening, the speakers referenced their memories of food once made by their families, such as gefilte fish and cholent, and how those foods—which still exist today—enable them to connect their past to the future.

The evening concluded with a sampling of food prepared by the Sisterhood from the recipes in the cookbook.

“Honey Cake & Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors,” published by Melcher Media, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Jewish bookstores.

By Judith Falk