Honoring victims of Holocaust

Candlelight memorial to be held in Monroe.

By: Rebecca Tokarz
MONROE — The 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust will be honored during an annual Yom Hashoah Commemoration candle-lighting memorial on Sunday.
   Holocaust survivors said the memorial holds a special place in their hearts because it honors the lives of people who died for senseless reasons, and they hope the memorial will be a time for reflection and keep the Holocaust fresh in people’s minds in hopes to of preventing another genocide from occurring.
   "It was the Jews then, but it could be someone else — God forbid," Holocaust survivor Esther Clifford of Monroe said.
   The Henry Rickles Holocaust Memorial Committee invites persons of all religious backgrounds to attend the memorial at 1 p.m. in the Monroe Township High School Richard P. Marasco Center for the Performing Arts. During the memorial, seven candles will be lit — the first candle lit will serve as the master candle and will be used to light the additional six candles — each candle symbolizing one million Jews killed during Nazi Germany’s attempts to destroy the Jewish people before and during World War II.
   The Yom Hashoah Commemoration became a worldwide event in 1951 when the Israeli parliament declared the 27th day of Nisan, or the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, as Holocaust Remembrance Day — a day to honor Jews who died and those who "showed resistance and heroism during the Holocaust," according to www.factmonster.com.
   Following the candle lighting, everyone is invited to listen to guest speaker Dr. Roman Ferber of New York City, who will address the crowd on the subject of 21st Century anti-Semitism. Dr. Ferber was a special advisor to the deputy mayor for community development in New York City.
   Ms. Clifford was never forced into a concentration camp but spent her time on the run from Nazis. She said she found herself in a prison, but unlike most of her family, she escaped and fled to England.
   Ms. Clifford said she finds comfort in participating in the memorial each year, knowing that people will not allow the injustices that took the lives of so many of her relatives to fade from memory.
   "I think of my family who perished. It gives me some kind of satisfaction that these people are not forgotten," Ms. Clifford said. "I lost more than half of my family, but we won’t forget them."
   Ms. Clifford said her family and others who were persecuted didn’t deserve the treatment they received because they were not guilty of anything but being a religion they were born into.
   Ms. Clifford said she hopes the remembrance of the Holocaust does not fade away as more and more Holocaust survivors die.
   "Our concern is that people remember. Six million people is an awful lot of people born Jewish to die. We pray people will continue the tradition (of memorializing the event) — there are only a few of us left," Ms. Clifford said.
   Ilse Loeb of Monroe said she survived the Holocaust because she was hidden away for three years. Unfortunately, her parents weren’t so lucky — they were killed in a concentration camp.
   Without a proper gravesite for her parents, Ms. Loeb said the candle memorial offers her the chance to honor them.
   "Because I lost my parents in a concentration camp, I don’t have a grave to go to. It’s a good way to honor them and all the others who died such a horrible death," she said.
   Since coming to the United States in 1947, Ms. Loeb visits schools and has dedicated a part of her life to making sure younger generations understand the horror of the Holocaust.
   To keep the memory alive, Ms. Loeb said she and other survivors created a Holocaust exhibit called "Hidden Children: The Youngest Survivors of the Holocaust." The exhibit tells the stories of 17 people who were hidden as children during World War II in German-occupied countries.
   Ms. Loeb said she’s thankful for the efforts of those who hid the children.
   "What they did was dangerous, but what they did kept us alive," she said.
   The exhibit is currently in Virginia and will make its way to Mercer County Community College soon, Ms. Loeb said.
   She said one day the significance of remembering the Holocaust will fade, but she doesn’t think that will happen any time soon.
   "One of the reasons I speak in schools is to keep the memories of it alive," Ms. Loeb said. "I am very glad that movies like ‘The Pianist’ are being shown — it keeps the history alive. We hope our young people will remember."