SHB_p006

SC04232015

6 The Courier sun • april 23, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Rockwood Park Jewish Center hosts Holocaust Remembrance Day BY ANGELA MATUA Photo courtesy of Rockwood Park Jewish Center editorial@queenscourier.com/@AngelaMatua Stories were shared and prayers were offered to the victims of the Holocaust during a special service last week at the Rockwood Park Jewish Center in Howard Beach. Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, honors both the more than 6 million people who died at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II and those who survived the atrocity. The event, which was hosted at the synagogue on Thursday, April 16, honored four Holocaust survivors: Nathan Berkowitz, Martin Braun, Jack Gruer and Judy Berkowitz. After a candle lighting service, the audience sang “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, and “The Star- Spangled Banner.” Rabbi Tzvi Berkowitz welcomed the crowd along with Bernard Fisch, president of the Rockwood Park Jewish Center. Public officials including Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, Community Board 10 Chair Betty Braton, Fr. Francis Colamaria of St. Helen’s Church, state Senator Joseph Addabbo and Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, made opening remarks. Her parents were both in their mid-teens when the Helen Greenblat, Rabbi Berkowitz’s cousin, told the war started and both lost family members as a result. story of her mother and father, who were both held in Greenblat’s father, Max Traeger, lived in Warsaw, concentration camps to put a face to the numbers we Poland, and worked in his father’s shoe factory after so often hear. dropping out of school in the fifth grade. According to “It’s something we can’t comprehend, but we can tell Greenblat, the extreme anti-Semitism he faced in school the stories and they can come to life and pay tribute by caused him to leave. telling the stories,” Greenblat said. Traeger and his family were forced into labor camps Greenblat spoke about her parents before the war to after Germany invaded Poland. Traeger, the lone survivor, emphasize that they lived a “normal” life, as well as the lived in the camps for five years. challenges they faced when starting over. Ilona Lax, Greenblat’s mother, was forced out of her “They were absolutely heroic for starting all over house in Czechoslovakia to a nearby ghetto along with her again and continuing after what they’d been through, sister, two brothers and father. Soon after, they were put the losses they suffered, the misery they endured,” on cattle cars to be escorted to Auschwitz. Upon arrival at Greenblat said. the death camp, Lax’s father and brother were both killed. BUY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER FREE Measuring & Installation w/purchase of $100. with this ad. • Draperies • Vertical Blinds • Honeycomb Shades • Custom Window Shades • Mini Blinds Nobody Beats Our Prices! • Roman Shades • Balloon Shades • Swags & Jabots • Shutters • Upholstery • Radiator Covers • Table Pads UP TO 70% OFF LIST PRICE Free Interior Design Consultation $20 OFF with purchase of $200 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 5/1/15 $50 OFF with purchase of $500 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 5/1/15 $100 OFF with purchase of $1,000 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 5/1/15 GOMER’S Window Treatments SINCE 1962 FREE SHOP AT HOME SERVICE SERVING QUEENS AND LONG ISLAND 1.800.522.6156 www.gomersdecorators.com *DO NOT CHASE – PLEASE CALL IMMEDIATELY IF SEEN* LOST BEAGLE MIX FEMALE –BROWN/WHITE/BLACK May still have pink/white collar and tags on 35-40 Lbs Markings: - Diamond shaped white patch on top of neck - White patch by top right upper thigh/ rear end area Please check in garage, shed,yard, etc. We need your help!! Microchipped. May be taken to local vet or shelter to scan. 917-796-9801 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FindMaryTyler o 845-642-6698 Lax and her sister, Lily, were liberated from Bergen- Belsen, a concentration camp in Germany, by British soldiers. To start a new life, they created a kosher kitchen and a synagogue. When Lax’s sister got engaged, she requested that her fiancé get her a white wedding gown. “I couldn’t believe when I heard the story. They went through hell, they lost so many of their family members and she’s telling him she wants a white wedding gown,” Greenblat said. Rations were implemented and instead of coffee and cigarettes, Lily Lax’s fiancé requested a white German parachute. The makeshift gown has been used by 17 brides, including Greenblat’s mother. “That to me is a symbol of renewed life,” said Greenblat.


SC04232015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above