Ohev Shalom Invites Community to Holocaust Remembrance Day With Special Guest Daniel Goldsmith on April 15

Daniel Goldsmith was 8 years old and living in Antwerp, Belgium, when World Word II began in 1939. His father was sent to Auschwitz – where he later died – but Daniel and his sister were spared the horror of the concentration camps thanks to the bravery and caring of leaders within the Catholic Church and nearby community, who went to great lengths to hide Daniel and his sister.

Mr. Goldsmith will be the guest speaker during a Holocaust Remembrance (Yom HaShoah) observance being held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 at Ohev Shalom of Bucks County, 944 2nd Street Pike, Richboro.

“It’s been 71 years since the Shoah,” said Rabbi Eliott Perlstein. “The generation of people who survived the Holocaust is getting smaller, thus making it essential that their stories be heard and remembered.”

During the ceremony, Mr. Goldsmith will share his family’s experience during this horrific time in history. His father was sent to a forced labor camp, while his mother tried desperately to hide her children so they would not be taken to the death camps. Goldsmith’s mother was able to hide him and his sister successfully for many years in a local convent. Then, on an occasion when Goldsmith went outside, he was caught and placed on a train with some other boys his age – all on their way to a concentration camp. While on the train to the camp, the boys worked together and managed to escape. They then sought refuge in a nearby town, where they were hidden by a Catholic priest. At the end of the war, Goldsmith was reunited with his mother and sister, and the family immigrated to the United States on April 17, 1948. He later learned that his father died at Auschwitz on Nov. 2, 1942.

“Danny’s life was saved by Righteous Gentiles, so I am inviting neighboring Christian clergy, as well as the community as a whole, to join us for this evening of remembrance,” said Rabbi Perlstein.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is a time set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust. It begins on the evening of April 15 and ends the following evening. At the heart of the service is a solemn procession of survivors, children of survivors, grandchildren of survivors and even great-grandchildren of survivors, who light a Yom HaShoah candle in memory of their loved ones. During the ceremony at Ohev Shalom, the names of those for whom a candle is being lit is read aloud in honor or in memory, as well as the names of the concentration camps or ghetto to which they were assigned during the war.

“Each year, our B’nai Mitzvah class and Confirmation Class participate in the service,” said Rabbi Perlstein. “This is not only meaningful to them, but to survivors with us who are comforted to know that the next generation will keep the memory of the Shoah alive.”

ABOUT OHEV SHALOM OF BUCKS COUNTY
Ohev Shalom has been serving the Jewish community of Bucks County since its founding in 1976. Affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, it is a vibrant and dynamic congregation that is committed to serving the spiritual, cultural, educational and social needs of its congregational family. Ohev Shalom celebrates the uniqueness of each individual and welcomes diversity within its sacred community. For information about Ohev Shalo