Holocaust survivor to share his story

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by Dorothy Markulis

Reporter

Hudson -- A Holocaust survivor will tell of his experiences May 6 at Yom HaShoah -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary Church.

Kent State University Professor Yoram Eckstein, 70, will share his life experiences in Europe and Asia during the Adolph Hitler's regime in the 1930s and 1940s.

"I was just 2 years old when my family fled Poland," Eckstein said.

He said he, his mother, father, uncles and aunts and cousins ran from the country, leaving behind homes and profitable businesses.

"We were very well off," he said. "We had a summer home and a winter home. My father, an engineer, was co-owner of several industrial enterprises."

Eckstein said his family was sent to a Siberian labor camp where his father was given the job of felling trees.

He said even though he was very young, he carries vivid memories of continuous hunger, typhus epidemics and dysentery outbreaks.

After the war his family returned to Poland. In 1956 Eckstein went to Israel to attend the Hebrew University where he earned three degrees. He came to the United States in 1974 to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting scientist in geology.

Eckstein, author of several books, will present readings from his most recent book, "Shards of [personal] History and Other Poems."

Members of the community are invited to share in this collaborative remembrance day with Temple Beth Shalom, First Congregational Church of Hudson, Hudson United Methodist Church, Laurel Lake Retirement Community, Rejoice Lutheran Church, Christ Episcopal Church, and St. Mary Church.

Candles available for
remembrance day

Temple Beth Shalom Rabbi Susan Stone, who is coordinating the community Holocaust Remembrance Day, said yellow candles may be purchased at the temple and at the service for a suggested $5 donation.

"The candles are Jewish symbolism, part of a mourning ritual," Stone said.

According to Stone, the yellow candles are symbolic of the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear during Hitler's reign.

She said proceeds from the sale of the candles are donated to the Foundation for the Righteous.

According to Stone, the foundation, instituted in 1986 by Rabbi Harold Schulweis, provides funds to non-Jews, living in gravely reduced circumstances, who saved Jewish lives during the holocaust.

According to the Foundation for the Righteous Web site, Schulweis began by helping eight people with financial assistance. The foundation now aids 1,400 people in 27 countries.

The Web site information indicated the foundation is part of the Jewish commitment to hakarat hatov, the searching out and recognition of goodness.

E-mail: dmarkulis@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3143