In honor of Yom Hashoah, Magen David Yeshivah held a moving memorial program. As each year passes, and the survivors of the Holocaust grow few, their memories and stories become even more important because they won’t be around forever to share them. They are a significant part of our history that we must never forget.
The evening began with an introduction by Mrs. Esther Tokayer, assistant principal of Magen David High School, reminding us to “Remember, honor and commit to the Jewish nation.” She then introduced a short film, which followed the stories of five survivors of the Holocaust in 1944 Hungary, called Last Days, by Steven Spielberg.
The film documents the last several months of the war, when over 400,000 Hungarian Jews were transported to the camps and killed.
Magen David’s Principal, Rabbi Baruch Hilsenrath, proudly introduced his mother, Mrs. Devorah Hilsenrath, survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He said, “I think back to my earliest memory—my mother would sit on my bed and say Shemah Yisroeal.”
“We grew up with joy, faith and emunah, and never knew our mother was in Auschwitz, and that her whole family perished.”
Mrs. Devorah Hilsenrath addressed the audience bravely and with brutal honestly.
“It is my privilege to be with you to share my personal experience, especially at this time of the year.”
As she told her story in painstaking detail, Mrs. Hilsenrath spoke of losing her whole family in Auschwitz and how the Nazis would separate children from their parents. It is said that you can’t kill a baby bird in front of its mother, which is exactly what the Nazis did. As time went on, she did not lose her will to live, and was grateful for all the numerous miracles which kept her alive.
Mrs. Hilsenrath still bears the numbers on her arm (she didn’t have a name in Auschwitz—no one did) as a constant reminder.
A candle lighting ceremony was followed by high school students remembering the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and the millions more, that were, and are still, affected by its memory.
Before the program began, guests were invited into the lobby to view a special presentation compiled by the eighth grade students. Working in groups, the students created artwork, multi-dimensional museums, PowerPoint presentations, and dioramas that were truly outstanding and a credit to the students and their teachers. A special thanks goes to Rabbi Sultan, Charles Anteby and the Judaic faculty from Magen David High School in assisting the students with their projects.
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Randi Shomer is a community member, mother of four children, and a freelance writer for IMAGE Magazine.
