The SOMA Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Committee had its 48th annual “Remember and Tell” on Sunday, March 23, with a march from the village to a temple and a talk by an award winning historian.
The solemn occasion started out at Spiotta Park in South Orange Village with the March of Remembrance and Hope, honoring the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of others murdered by the nazi regime, as well as the survivors.
The march ended at Congregation Beth El on Irvington Avenue where the formal service was held.
“We share these stories to make sure history does not repeat itself,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky said. “I certainly can’t ignore there’s a rise of antisemitism in this world.
I urge all of us to do more to make sure we are truly allies for each other. We mean it when we say, ‘Never again.’ We promise not to be silent in the face of so much hate again. That no one has to live in fear because of the God we pray to. May we come together arm and arm as allies that stand up for each other.”
After the opening prayer, there was a survivor candle lighting. Seton Hall Prep students read the biographies of survivors—Sylvia Ben-Asher, Gerda Bikales, Dr. Norbert Bikales, Paulette Dorflauer, Adela Dubovy, Fred Heyman, Hanna Keselman, Danuta Kozlowksi, Adele Rapaport, Mark Schonwetter, and Robert Sochor.
After the candle lighting, Mary Chris Brauchli, co-chair of SOMA Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Committee, introduced keynote speaker Jud Newborn, a multimedia lecturer, author, and curator.
Newborn is an Emmy Award-winning producer of special programs, a founding historian at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, recipient of the Anne Frank Center’s “Spirit of Anne Frank Human Writes Award” and co-author of a special anniversary edition of “Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.”
“We’re quite thrilled and honored to have Dr. Newborn with us today,” said Brauchli.
“I’m honored to be in the presence of our survivors,” said Newborn. “The history of the Holocaust was a struggle for truth and meaning. The rest of the world would not believe what happened. Hiding away was an act of defiant self-preservation that required resourcefulness and creativity. Those in hiding had to keep shifting in hiding places. Gentiles who helped Jews, we honor these wonderful people. Jews who did find hiding places—no toilet, newborns that needed care when a doctor wasn’t present—hid themselves in pigsties. Some in places so narrow they had to take turns lying down. In some cities Jews survived in sewer tunnels, vision blurred from many months spent underground. A child was concealed in a box, he was almost blind and could only make senseless utterings, never learning the art of speech.”
There was a lighting of the Chai candles. In Jewish tradition the word “chai” carries a depth of meaning beyond its simple translation of “life.” It symbolizes resilience, progress, and the promise of future generations.
The Chai candles were lit by Ed Bikales and members of the Bikales family in honor of their parents, Gerda and Dr. Norbert Bikales, both Holocaust survivors and long-time supporters and attendees of the annual service.
Stephen Schwartz and Sylvia Ben-Asher were awarded the prestigious Sister Rose Thering Holocaust Education Award. Ben-Asher, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto; and Schwartz, a local architect, traveled to hundreds of schools to teach students about the Holocaust. Ben-Asher shared her captivating stories while Schwartz recreated the ghetto using LEGO blocks for the students.
Ben-Asher was not in attendance, but watching the service live online with her grandchildren.
Schwartz said he was “honored to be part of this whole presentation.”
Rabbi Rachel Marder, Congregation Beth El, offered a closing prayer and remarks.
“We say ‘Never again’ that Genocide shall not be repeated,” Marder said. “We pray for the souls of the millions and millions of victims of this brutality.”
The Rev. Valencia Norman, of the First Presbyterian and Trinity Church, gave the Benediction. “Be mindful of all we heard,” she said. “I pray that each one of us will take away what they heard and share it. We are to be messengers resisting the rise of antisemitism and racism.”
The service ended with “Let There Be Peace on Earth” sung by the choir and audience.
Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams, and committee persons Dean Dafis and Victor De Luca were in attendance.
To learn more about Remember and Tell, visit: https://rememberandtell.org/.
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