4 minute read
“Don't let them forget”
Based on an interview with GenShoah SWFL member, Jack Abel
By Ida Margolis and Shelley Lieb
"Don't let them forget,” is something that many Holocaust Survivors have said. Second generation Holocaust Survivors (2Gs) have likely heard this from their Survivor parent(s). It is understandable why it is so important to Survivors. GenShoah member Jack Abel recalls how important it was for his mother, and it became a call to action for him. He was fulfilling this call during a recent special trip to Yad Vashem in Israel.
Jack and his wife, Hedy, are both 2Gs. Both of Jack’s parents are Survivors. His mother was in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His father was in a Siberian labor camp. They met on a boat running the blockade to Palestine. They eventually made it to Palestine after being intercepted by the British and sidelined to Cypress. The pain and suffering of his parents are carried by Jack.
Jack was born in Israel in 1948, soon after it became The State of Israel. Jack was 10 years old when his family emigrated to the United States. He still speaks fluent Hebrew and visits Israel often. Jack remembers his mother with an overwhelming admiration for her openness to others and willingness to talk about her experiences. Jack remembers his father as being the opposite — angry. But they both stressed the need to "make sure people don't forget."
Jack “remembers” by visiting Jewish sites and Holocaust museums where he lives and when he travels, including United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (D.C.), Yad Vashem (Israel), Athens (Greece), New York, and Naples (Florida). He makes donations and dedicates plaques to his parents.
Jack has been in the U.S. for 66 years, but he maintains close ties with Israel through family and friends. He visits Israel every year and especially likes to hike while he's there. He is very interested in Jewish history and considers himself a Zionist. He is proud of his children and grandchildren and their commitment to Judaism.
Two years ago, Jack was invited to attend the opening program of the Yom HaShoah commemoration in Israel. Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) opens with a nationwide broadcast on the evening before (erev Yom Hashoah) that includes many dignitaries. In 2025, he was asked to be the one to light the memorial flame at the "Hall of Remembrance" at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. He's not sure why he got this unexpected honor. The following is from a description of this hall.
An imposing, tent-like basalt structure that allows visitors to pay their respects to the memories of the martyred dead. On the floor are the names of 22 Nazi murder sites – chosen from the hundreds of extermination and murder sites that existed throughout Europe. A memorial flame burns continuously, next to a crypt containing ashes of victims brought from the extermination camps. (yad vashem.org/visiting/ map-of-yad-vashem)
Jack's very emotional and tearful reaction was a surprise to him and had a profound effect. "I felt my mother was there. It was me, the flame, and my mother in a somber, dramatic setting."
Jack's message to others visiting Israel is that experiencing Yad Vashem is a must . It explains the reason for Israel's existence. In light of the contemporary events of Oct. 7 and Iran, Jack reminds us that Israel is a "one-bomb state.” That is all it would take to destroy it. That makes Iran an existential threat.
All 2Gs should keep in mind the importance of ensuring that people remember. Eli Wiesel said “...to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”
As Jack’s mother said, “Don’t let them forget.”
