By Paul Shapiro
The standing-room-only crowd included Holocaust survivors, their children, their grandchildren and hundreds of other Five Towns residents. “I have so much pain,” said 80-year-old Marka Chaimowitz, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary who lost more than 100 family members during the Shoah, the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.
Pointing at a martyrs’ list of more than 1,400 names associated with the Five Towns in the hallway leading to the temple’s sanctuary, Chaimowitz, who lives in Woodmere, continued, “To see these names, my sisters, my brothers, my father, my grandfather, my cousins, everybody over there [on the wall], it brings back memories. … Pain, pain, this day means pain, a lot of pain.”
Chaimowitz was the sole survivor in a family of eight that was taken to Auschwitz, the largest of Nazi Germany’s concentration and extermination camps. She attended the event with her grandchildren, and said she was happy they were there with her. “I like that they understand and that they are with me,” she said. “They know that my seeing all of this brings back memories, and know that after the 65 years that has gone by, some of my pain has calmed down, but they understand that the pain is still there.”
Aaron Bortz, a 16-year-old from Woodmere, said he had come to the event to support his grandmother, but was moved to see the names of his extended family on the martyrs’ list. “It means a lot to me to see all the people that perished in the Holocaust, and I’m glad to be able to be here with her today,” said Bortz, who attends Mesivta Ateres Yaakov in Hewlett. “It just shows that we have survived and that we’re still here and we want to stay here.”
This was the first time that the martyrs’ list was on display at the Five Towns commemoration. “It’s amazing how many names there are just from our neighborhood,” said Allysa Jeret, a senior at Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, who said her grandfather was in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. “It shows you real names and makes it more personal ... because you can see all these names from my family and others from the neighborhood as well.”
Sharona Thall, who chaired the event, spoke about the Shoah’s significance in “our lives and our children’s lives.” She said she hopes events like this, and the martyrs’ list, can help educate younger generations about the Holocaust. “There is more to Shoah education than just becoming another walking Holocaust encyclopedia,” Thall said during her opening remarks. “... The 1,400-plus neshamas” — Hebrew for souls — “that are listed on the walls as you came into the program this evening are our martyrs who will never be forgotten.”
Many members of younger generations played significant roles in the commemoration. Three children, Michael Somer and Ryan and Dylan Mandelbaum, read poems, and other youngsters spoke of their being named after those who died in the Holocaust. “It meant a lot to me,” said 15-year-old Dylan Mandelbaum, who helped set up the martyrs’ list and read “A Butterfly.” “My dad’s name is up on the wall and his whole family is up there. It's really moving seeing how much family is gone.”
Renowned Jewish singer Baruch Abittan performed while video from the Holocaust and survivor testimonies played on screens in the packed sanctuary, and the crowd filled another room that had a live feed of the ceremony. “This event means a lot to this community,” Jeret said. “... Every year, people are standing in the back.”
Seventeen-year-old Ryan Mandelbaum said that tales of the Holocaust must be recalled to keep history from repeating itself. “I think it’s very important that we have some kind of remembrance on this day. especially in the community which is so affected by the Holocaust,” the Lawrence High School student said. “And as you can see by these walls, so many people have been affected ... in the Five Towns. That makes it even more important that we remember those we’ve lost. This is the kind of thing that must be remembered.”
Professor Nechama Tec, the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller keynote speaker, told her own Holocaust survival story. Tec is the author of several books, including “Defiance,” on which the recent movie of the same name, starring Daniel Craig, was based. “Somehow we have to still continue to remember their presence, those who have perished in such horrible ways,” she said.
The commemoration concluded with a candle-lighting ceremony, in which candles were lit by six Holocaust survivors and their grandchildren. Hildy Eliach of Woodmere said it was overwhelming to see her 11-year-old daughter Noa and 9-year-old son Itai take part in the ceremony with her mother-in-law, Yaffa Eliach, a Holocaust historian.
“I’m here to remember the six million who perished in the war and particularly because my mother in-law is a survivor,” Hildy Eliach said. “I’m happy that they’re aware of what happened. I’m just happy that they understand. They know a lot of stories and lot of our family’s history. I hope that they’ll take it upon themselves to publicize the story of the Holocaust to future generations so people can’t just forget.”
Comments about this story? PShapiro@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
