'So Grateful': Hamptons' Holocaust Survivor, 90, Saved From Eviction

EAST HAMPTON, NY — Community members opened their hearts to help a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor from East Hampton from losing the only home she's known for the past 20 years.

Judith Sleed, almost 91, has survived the unthinkable — the only member of her family left alive, at 12, after the Holocaust. She carried all the grief and memories in her heart for decades.

This week, she told Patch she was facing the loss of her home of 20 years— and with eviction looming, she was left searching for answers.

A GoFundMe page, "Judith Sleed, Rent & Groceries — Holocaust Survivor," was created by Stanislav Gomberg, an attorney who said he is working pro bono for Sleed in trying to keep her afloat.

On Friday, Gomberg told Patch that the GoFundMe page, which had reached $39,000, would be closed that day.

"We have a agreement in principle made with the landlord to pay past due rent and renew the lease for another year going forward," Gomberg said. "We are awaiting release of the funds and will settle the matter thereafter, but the eviction proceedings are now stayed."

The managers of the senior complex where Sleed lives, Windmill Village in East Hampton, could not immediately be reached for comment.

"We are grateful. So grateful for everyone's generosity," Sleed said. She added that despite the turmoil of the past months, she would look on the bright side now.

"I amazed at how dear friends and perfect strangers can be so benevolent," Sleed's son Jeff told Patch. "I wish there was a way I could thank every person."

"Ms. Sleed is 90 years old and lives in East Hampton in a small subsidized apartment that she shares with her son," Gombert wrote on the GoFundMe page. "During the past year, a significant portion of Ms. Sleed's rental assistance was removed due to administrative mix-ups and banking mix-ups, thereby leaving her unable to afford her rent and now owing over $16,000 in back rent. As a result, her landlord currently attempting to evict her," he said.

Gomberg said he was approached by The Blue Card, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Holocaust survivors, to assist Sleed with fighting the eviction process. The Blue Card has been helping Judy for more 20 years by providing financial support for dental, medical, and utility bills, as well as on holidays, Gomberg said.

Gomberg said he created the GoFundMe to cover Sleed's back rent, as well as pay for groceries and rent for the next few months, while her application to reinstate her rental subsidy agreement is pending. Any charitable funds obtained will be held in escrow and solely provided to Sleed at her request to cover rent and groceries, he said.

Gomberg added:"It may be surprising for most to know that there are still many Holocaust survivors living in the world and the United States who have difficulty surviving month to month."

Sleed is an accomplished children's book author who also hosted a series of interviews with East End notables and others; those interviews can be found on YouTube. She also wrote a book, "Delibab-Utca," about her experiences as an orphan in post-war Budapest as well as all that came after.

Sleed and her son Jeff spoke with Patch earlier this week about the uncertainty that permeated their days.

Asked how she felt, with possible eviction hanging over her, Sleed said: "I'm terrible. I feel life is over."

Sleed is no stranger to loss.

"I was 12 years old when I lost everything and everyone," she said. The pain was so deeply etched that for years, she never spoke of the Holocaust, or of the family members that she had lost, with her own children.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 30, 1932, Sleed said over a three-day period in October, 1944, her mother, father and brother Tomi — he was only 15-and-a-half, technically not old enough to go — were told they had to report to the station and board a train.

"My mother was very optimistic," Sleed remembers. "She had no clue what was happening."

Her mother was just 49 years old.

She never saw her family again.

The only way she knew that they had died, Sleed said, was that she received a postcard from them, which she still has, that she was later told those in death camps wrote to their families. "They required all the people they killed in the gas chambers to mail those postcards back home, to say they were okay," she said. Her voice quiet, she added: "Nobody came back."

Sleed came to America and married her husband Joel — they later divorced — with whom she shared three children, Jodie, Jill and Jeff. Sadly, Jill died of cancer six years ago, another heavy cloud of grief that colors her memories.

Before Sleed got the help of a community who lifted her up with their help, was devastated at the thought of having to leave. "I'm very, very upset about this situation," she said.

As for Jeff, he is his mother's primary caretaker. "I stopped by 12 years ago for a weekend and I haven't left," he said. He sleeps on the couch in the apartment, he said. His mother has had several strokes and, despite her indomitable spirit, needs care. The pair currently do not have a car and the cost of taxis is prohibitive, Sleed said.

Despite all they are facing, both clearly share a deep bond and pride in one another's accomplishments; Jeff mentioned a documentary about his mother's life that's being produced.
"She's amazing," he said.

To donate to the GoFundMe through Friday, click here.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.