West Essex 8th Grader Shares Experiences of His Grandfather in Holocaust

West Essex Middle School student Jake Wolf, an eighth grader from North Caldwell, decided he wanted to do something different for his bar mitzvah project last year. So he sat down with his grandfather Michael Bornstein of Westfield, a survivor of the Holocaust, and spoke to him about his experiences.

Jake also gathered photos and other information to create a slide show presentation. He said his grandfather was very young when he was taken to the concentration camp Auschwitz and was so small he would hide under the mattresses when the Nazis came to take prisoners to the gas chambers. He also suffered from typhoid fever and is lucky to be alive today.

Jake made his slide presentation to West Essex High School genocide and holocaust classes on March 18.

"I am so proud of him," said mother Lori Wolf, who noted that her father rarely talks about his experiences and her son is now helping him share his story.

Grandfather Michael Bornstein hugged Jake after the presentation.

"I think he did a wonderful job," Bornstein said.