Yom HaShoah 2026 Program

Ruth Hermann

Joe Alexander

Ruth Hermann was born in 1927 in Stuttgart, Germany, into a world that once felt secure and familiar, until it wasn’t. As a young Jewish girl, she experienced that world unravel under Nazi rule. Friendships severed, protections disappeared, and the familiar became uncertain.

When she was sent away on the Kindertransport, it was not truly a choice, but a decision her parents made out of urgency and necessity. It meant safety, but only at the cost of leaving her family behind, with no certainty of ever seeing them again. I cannot help but think of the trains that later carried so many to the camps. Hers was different—a train that led to life—but for a child who was eleven years old, the fear, the separation, and the unknown must have been overwhelming.

What struck me most about Ruth is not only what she endured, but how she chose to live afterward. Despite losing her mother, father, and brother, and spending the war years in a youth hostel in London, she never carried herself with bitterness. Instead, she built her life around family.

This combined photographic image reflects the Ruth I witnessed as she shared her story. On the left, she shields her eyes, as if even now there are memories too heavy to fully face. The image on the right depicts Ruth in quiet reflection, her gaze turned away, as though looking back across time Even in her vulnerability, Ruth expressed gratitude. She thanked me for helping to carry her story forward. Her message was simple, but so important… respect one another. In Ruth, I witnessed both the child who endured unimaginable loss and the woman who makes the choice to live with grace. Her life reminds me that even after such profound loss, it is still possible to choose connection, compassion, and humanity.

Joe is 100 years old, yet doesn’t look a day over 80. Born in 1922 in Kowal, Poland, life was good for Joe and his family until the Nazis invaded his hometown in 1939. He stated that their wonderful warm, home cooked meals were quickly replaced with potato-peel soup. Shortly thereafter, German troops took over the town and the family along with many thousands of other Jews were transported to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Fortunately, I suppose, Joe’s father managed to bribe some guards to let Joseph and two of his siblings escape. Sadly though, this would be the last time Joe would see the rest of his family.

From there, he would go on to survive twelve work and death camps including AuschwitzBirkenau. In Auschwitz he received his tattoo with the numbers 142584, which are forever engraved on his arm and in his memory. Joe told me, the day he received it, was the day he lost his personal identity. He was dehumanized. This he says, is the price of hate.

Yetta Kane

Irene Perbal

Yetta’s survival of the Holocaust was full of miracles. She had a wonderful childhood in a home that had “lots of food and lots of love”. Yetta’s observant Jewish family had a working farm and her father Zelik ran a dry goods store. Sadly this all came to an abrupt end when he would learn during a trip to Vilnus, Lithuania, that the Nazis were headed their way.

Irene is from Amsterdam and her family hid many Jews in their home during WWII. While not Jewish, she lived in a neighborhood with many Jews, and her father in particular was appalled at how the Jews were being treated once the Nazi war machine invaded Holland. While all the Dutch were facing many changes in their lives due to the occupation, they could see the Jews had it much worse.

Upon hearing this, Yetta’s family fled the town with nothing but the clothes on their back. They would survive in the woods for nearly two years, barely staying ahead of the Nazi onslaught, while somehow managing to stay clear of the German Shepherds trying to pick up their trail.

The weather could be freezing at times, and the food was incredibly scarce Eventually Yetta’s family made their way to Siberia, a trek equal to walking from California to Cleveland. Only by way of miracles did they survive.

Irene recalls her father being a brave man committed to standing up for others, and at the risk of death, the Perbal family started hiding Jews in a secret location in their home. One day in 1944 when Irene’s father was out working, three Dutch men came who were collaborating with the Nazis and found two Jews hiding upstairs. They wanted to know where Irene’s father was, and were told he was at work. Cleverly, the men asked who the family Doctor was. Knowing this information, they proceeded to call Mr. Perbal at work and told him it was Dr. Dubois calling and that the oldest of the two babies (his first son) was dying. Consequently, Mr. Perbal returned home immediately and tragically was taken along with the two Jews to the Gestapo headquarters down the street. This would be the last time the Perbal family saw him.

Eva Schneider

Lou Fogelman

Eva believes in miracles, and the fact she is with us today certainly is a testimony that they do exist. Almost 80 years ago, Eva, age 11 at the time, and her mother, were arrested and taken by cattle car to Auschwitz. Both were well aware of the fate that most likely awaited them.

After a day of riding on the train, crammed tightly amongst other Jewish prisoners with no bathrooms, no food and only the horrors which lay in front of them, Eva alongside her mom would get off the train at the Concentration Camp and be sent straight to get their hair shaven and arms tattooed. Eva now lost her humanity and became number A27078. (This number she would have removed after the war, although a scar still remains on her arm.) From there they had to remove their clothes and march straight to what most certainly was immediate death in the gas chambers. Fortunately, due to a recent bombing of the Crematoria, their lives were spared and only water came out of the showers.

Louis Corper Fogelman was born in Hilversum, Holland on June 21, 1941, despite the fact that his parents vowed not to have children due to the horrible conditions which existed for Jews in Holland at the time. Shortly after Lou’s birth, the family had to move to Amsterdam and live in a small apartment in the Jewish Ghetto, all being required to wear a yellow star in order to be easily identified as being Jewish.

In August of 1942, his parents decided they would try and get out of the country and make their way to Switzerland. Tragically, the guide they had hired turned them in to the Gestapo.

Children such as Louis were taken across the street to a day care center until the time came for the Jews to be shipped to the camps. This would be the last time Lou would ever see his parents. Tragically, Lou’s parents were murdered a short time later in Auschwitz. Despite everything he has been through, Lou believes intensely in having Faith and trust, being compassionate and never giving up.

Leah Bernstein

Sarah B. Schweitz

Leah Bernstein, an only child, was born in Barlad, Romania four years before the Nazis invaded her country. She had a wonderful childhood, until the world turned dark for her family and many millions of others as the German war machine moved across Europe.

Sarah B. Schweitz was born in Trikala, Greece in 1940. When the Italians invaded Greece, her father was drafted into the army and sent to the Albanian Front. After a year the German Air Force came to Trikala and destroyed almost every building except the Temple and some very nice homes that they intended for their use. Sarah’s childhood home was located next to the Temple, and it was spared.

Following the invasion in 1940, times immediately became difficult and like many others, Leah had to wear a cloth Star of David on her outer clothes every time she would go outside. Her father Haim, was taken to a concentration camp in 1941 and was forced to break stones in the freezing cold. The family did not know whether they would ever see him again. Food was difficult to obtain, whereby a week’s worth of food had to last them a month. Leah lived in one room with family members, going from location to location in order to avoid capture. Leah and her mother finally had to flee to the forests where they relied on the Partisans to keep them from being captured and sent by trains to the death camps.

Despite sharing with me the many challenges she faced throughout the war, Leah managed to keep a positive attitude throughout. She was most definitely “scared, but happy to be alive”.

On March 24, 1944 at 4:00 am the Germans went to the Jewish Quarter in Trikala and captured everyone except those few who escaped. Sarah’s family escaped because of the kindness of a Righteous Gentile, George Kalogerometrou. Because of the courage and generosity of George and the Greek farmers, Sarah’s family remained in hiding in the high mountains of Greece until the end of the war in 1945.

Six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Sarah’s family lost fifty beloved members.

Gabriella Karin

Ingrid Galin

As an only child, Gabriella recalls living as an 8 year old in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, a peaceful democratic country. She reflected on wonderful times spent with her grandmother who would take her ice skating and to parks. Sadly, things started to heat up in 1939.

As we began our session, Ingrid shared that her father was taken to Sachsenhausen Concentration camp, and then to Mauthausen, one of the most notorious Nazi Concentration Camps in Austria.

Fortunately for reasons unknown to Ingrid, he was released and returned home.

At this time Gabriella was put in a convent, with false papers, in order to survive. Only 11 years old, she would cry herself to sleep every night. After not seeing her parents for a year, her mother came back and the family went into hiding. For nine months they were not even allowed to speak for fear they would be discovered. All Gabriella was able to do was read. One thing in particular she recalls learning from the history books she read is that nothing lasts forever, even wars. This knowledge would be instrumental in her survival.

When Ingrid was three, her family left Berlin for Shanghai, which was referred as “the Paris of the Orient”. This country happened to be the only one on earth accepting Jews at the time.

Years later, Gabriella tells students, everything can be taken away, even the clothes you wear, but no one can take away what you put in your head. Gabriella remains positive and makes a daily commitment to keep joy in her heart. Clearly this comes through in her photograph.

Memories of this difficult time are the first Ingrid has, being that she was very young when in Berlin.

Her recollections contain some good memories mixed in with some tragic ones. In particular, she recalls at the age of 6 or 7, witnessing a Chinese woman thrown out of a house in order to give birth to a child in a gutter. Obviously, this horrific event is something she will never forget.

Ingrid says that having survived such difficult times and the fact she is here today, serves as a reminder of the continuance of life and the roles we play in it. “The tendency to appreciate life especially after bad things happen is very evident.”

Harry Davids

Ludmila Page

Hidden Infant During the Holocaust “I am alive because others risked their lives to keep me alive”

Ludmila had a wonderful childhood, full of love and attention. Unfortunately she lost her father when she was 14.

Harry was born in Amsterdam in 1942. Both of his parents had left Germany in the 1930’s to what ended up being Nazi occupied Holland.

Surmising that their new child would not survive the Nazi onslaught, Harry’s parents turned him over to the Dutch resistance. As fate would have it, Harry was taken in by a very religious Calvinist Protestant family who felt Jews were the enemy. Fortunately their faith also taught that you should “love your enemy”, so based on their strict adherence to their Faith, they took in Harry and made him part of their family. Certainly it was very dangerous to hide Jews, with the cost being death if one were caught.

Today, Harry is blessed with a wonderful life thanks to those who risked their life to save his.

He speaks out fervently about four groups of people in life; perpetrators, victims, bystanders and up-standers. Without the upstanders, many thousands of those who survived the war would not have. One of Harry’ s missions in life is to make upstanders instead of bystanders.

He says too many people remain idle in horrific situations and we have to learn from history.

Ludmila, as well as her husband were part of Oskar Schindler’s “list”. Interestingly enough, Ludmila and her husband Leopold initially refused the chance to work in Shindler’s factory, thinking there may be a better way to escape the Nazi torture.

Ultimately Schindler put Ludmila and Leopold on his “list” of those to be transferred to his plant. Mila says about Schindler, “He was our hero, our savior”.

The movie, Schindler’s List, came as a result of Mila’s husband Leopold relating their story to author Thomas Keneally. Ultimately the story of the Pages and about 1200 others brings light to the courage of a man, Oskar Schindler in the midst of unspeakable evil. Ludmila says: “ It is so much easier to love than to hate”. It is my hope that more people in this world will take note of this.

Mila Gokhman

Piri Katz

Mila was born in Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine, in 1934. When WW II began, Mila and her family had to leave her hometown and flee to the Ural Mountains in order to survive the onslaught of Nazi terror. After the war, she returned to her home, only to find the city completely demolished. During our discussion, Mila vividly recalled her memory of the bombing that began the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on her 7th birthday on June 22, 1941. Three months later, almost 34,000 Jews were massacred in Kyiv’s Babi Yar ravine. Thankfully her family survived. Fast forward to today and tragically we find the same destruction being inflicted on many Ukrainian cities. Mila spoke of the horrible pain she feels currently as the episodes from her past replay in her life once again. Thankfully, she has her art to uplift her. With flowers and beautiful symphonies inspiring Mila’s work, she always finds the inspiration to pull through the difficult challenges she faces.

Piri, a Holocaust survivor, was born November 18, 1927 in Tibiva, Czechoslovakia, a small town in the Carpathian Mountains. She was the seventh of 11 children who in1943, at age 15, was taken to the Munkatch ghetto during Passover, and later was in the camps of Auschwitz, Geislingen, and ultimately sent to Dachau, where she was liberated by the Americans in May 1945.

Today Piri speaks often to young people about the Holocaust, and hopes that children will appreciate freedom, and be tolerant of others regardless of their race or religious beliefs.

She continues to go to synagogue, is a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, and is thankful and proud to be an American.

Henri Wittelsohn

Rachel (Kops) Van Beynen

Henri Wittelsohn, soon to be 90, is a man of tremendous character, with the deep desire to share his experiences from the Holocaust in order that those who witness his portrait and testimony will understand the truth from his past, and what horrific things humans who hate are capable of. By sharing his traumatic memories which remain strikingly vivid throughout his lifetime, it is his hope that despite the pain he endures by reliving the past, humanity can learn from his story as we look forward.

Rachel (Kops) Van Beynen, was born in Amsterdam in 1926. Rachel was the first person in the family to be taken by the German SS at age 16. She ultimately survived 10 concentration camps including a death march from Auschwitz, when the Germans knew they were losing the war. After the war, Rachel learned that her mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents and 53 other family members had been exterminated.

Eddy and Eveline Hoffman

It’s a beautiful love story when two remarkable human beings find each other. Holocaust Survivors Eddy and Eveline Hoffman are such people, meeting after the war on a blind date in Cleveland, Ohio.

Eddy was transported to Auschwitz at the age of 14. He endured six concentration camps.

Eddy’s determination to survive was due in part to an incredibly vivid dream he had years before, giving him a vision of him being freed from captivity. Years later, Eddy came the U.S. and was drafted into the 3rd Army, the same unit that liberated him from Ebensee.

At the age of 5, Eveline, and her sisters, would go into hiding with non-Jewish friends in France. In 1940, the Nazis invaded France and her parents knew every Jew would have to leave ASAP before they would be gathered up and taken to the camps. Fortunately, they were able to escape under the cover of darkness in late 1942, when they made a very dangerous trek over the border to Spain. Thanks to Eveline’s Uncle Harry, the three sisters were able to emigrate to the U.S. in 1943.

Their book, An Ode to Life, The Love Story, was published in 2020. Sadly Eddy passed away recently in January.

Tibor Rubin

Tibor Rubin is the only Holocaust survivor to receive the nation’s highest medal for valor.

As a young Jewish man in Europe during World War II, Rubin survived the Holocaust before moving to the U.S. in the hopes of joining the Army to pay back the country that gave him freedom. He served valiantly during the Korean War only to be taken prisoner again. In 30 months of captivity, Rubin’s leadership, spirit and actions were credited with saving the lives of dozens of fellow prisoners, all of whom said they wouldn’t have survived without him.

Tibor spent 14 months in Mauthausen before the camp was liberated May 5, 1945, by the Army’s 11th Armored Division. He credited Army medics with saving many survivors, including himself. Rubin, as well as his daughter Rosie were Cypress College students.

Gerda Sophie (Rosenbaum) Rich

Gerda was the only surviving member of her family, from Paderborn Germany. She was in Berlin during Kristallnacht, working in a hospital. At the age of 19 she left Germany and spent a year in London, England, where she experienced the Blitz.

Eric Stephan (Reichenberg) Rich

Eric was imprisoned in Buchenwald, but through the help of a cousin in the U.S received an affidavit to come to the U.S. Upon his arrival, he was made a U.S citizen by joining the U.S Army.

They used him to intercept German radio messages because German was his native language.

Eric lost his parents and his sister in Auschwitz.