12 North Shore Towers Courier n June 2016 Zahor Yom Ha’Shoah Memorial ceremony gathers hundreds to “Remember…” Photos by Julie Weissman and Stephen Vrattos BY STEPHEN VRATTOS Thursday evening, May 5, literally hundreds of North Shore Towers residents and guests filled Towers on the Green to commemorate the “Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.” This year’s Yom Ha’Shoah was especially poignant for Chair Eaneas Arkawy. For more than a dozen years, Arkawy co-chaired the event with resident Manek Werdiger, who started the North Shore Towers Ha’Shoah ceremony a few years before her arrival to the co-op. A child survivor of the infamous Krakow Concentration Camp in Poland, Werdiger passed away this year, and it was with a heavy heart that Eaneas carried on with the memorial by herself. “My heart is filled with tears of sorrow and remembrance,” she said to the gathering. Eaneas spoke of Werdiger’s introducing the event at NST; her joining the strong, dedicated man shortly after her move to The Towers; and of the horrific murder of his parents, sister and brother, victims of the Krakow atrocities during World War II. Arkawy’s voice displayed nary a crack or waver, the tears in her eyes, the only indication of the deep emotions she held for this man who has come to mean so much to her and millions of people the world over, with whom he shared his commitment to ensure the world never forgets. It was Arkawy’s hope and intention to have Werdiger’s son, Sheldon, join Residents and guests arise to sing the Star-Spangled Banner and Jewish National Anthem the ceremony to light a candle in his father’s memory. Unfortunately, Sheldon was unable to attend, forced to remain in his Manhattan home with a terrible bout of Shingles. Sheldon voiced his concern that his father’s program continue, to which Eaneas gave her word that neither the annual memorial, nor he would ever be forgotten. It was a beautiful ceremony, one of which Werdiger would have been proud. After the crowd stood to sing The National Anthem and Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel, beloved friend of NST, Rabbi Clayman, took to the podium. He opened with a recitation of “Forgotten,” a poem written by one of the “Children of Terezín,” the Czech Republic citadel in which nearly 100,000 Czech Jews were killed. Of the 15,000 children sent to Terezín, only 132 survived. Rabbi Clayman then spoke of his fear that with the passing of time, the Shoah would fade and urged everyone to teach the new generation never to forget. He acknowledged the disappearance of Jewish traditions and the diminishing importance of Jewish education, as well as the dichotomy of young people, who are concerned with their estrangement from the religion despite few taking the steps to understand Judaism. “An annual Shoah is not enough,” Rabbi Clayman said. “We must remember throughout the year.” The traditional lighting of six candles—representing the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust—ensued, each by a survivor of the horrific event. Jean Schwartzer, Larry and Anna Zelman, Honoree Diana Albert, Ruth Kogut and Irene Greenwald lit candles in turn before Eaneas honored Manek Werdiger and his wife, Ilona, by lighting the final one. Other survivors in attendance were asked to stand and be recognized during the ceremony. Then, Eva Kessner led the audience in a moment of silence before Building #1 resident and child survivor, Diana Albert, was escorted to the front of the room by her son, Columbia Professor Dr. David Albert. Of the million Jewish children in Poland during World War II, only five thousand survived. In a methodical effort Yom Ha’Shoah Memorial Chair Eaneas Arkawy and Co-Chair Eva Kessner
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