Fifty years ago today, American history was irrevocably changed when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Much attention has been given to this significant anniversary as we continue to dissect the impact upon our world from the death of our nation's youngest President. What is clear is that history would have unfolded in quite a different way if he had survived. The life and death of just one man continues to reverberate in our nation's conscience.
Perhaps it is more than coincidental that the anniversary of Kennedy's assassination coincides with our Temple's commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, "The Night of Broken Glass". This event which took place in Germany in 1938 is known as the "official" start of what would become Hitler's "final solution" and the death of more than 6 million Jews.
To commemorate this haunting anniversary, we invite our community to join with us, Friday, November 22, 2013 at 7:30pm (Temple Har Shalom, 104 Mount Horeb Road, Warren, NJ) for a Story of Family & Hope: Personal Reflections from Congregant & Child of Holocaust Survivors, Jim Sokolowsky.
Jim Sokolowsky was born in Norway in 1948. His parents, Jona and Ruth, were born in Lida, Poland (Now Belarus) and survived the Holocaust. Post war, the family moved to Germany, Norway, Israel and then to Boston. Jim graduated Engineering at Northeastern University and has an MBA from Babson College. Norma, his wife of 43 years, is a retired teacher and is now a consultant for children's literacy programs. They have three children and a six year old grandson all living in NJ/NYC. Last month, Jim and Norma traveled to Eastern Europe and learned about pre-war and present Jewish life there. They also visited Majdanek, the death camp, where most of Jim's family were transported to and perished.
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In addition, we will be joined by Anne Monka, a Holocaust survivor who was a member of the Partisans, the group of Jewish resistance fighters led by the Bielsky brothers, who were featured in the 2008 blockbuster movie Defiance starring Daniel Craig.
