For me the saying “Never Again” is personal. It’s remembering looking at the numbers tattooed on my Bubbe’s arm, seeing my Zayde cry (the only time I ever saw him do that) in front of my Hebrew School class while recalling the moment his baby brother was ripped away from him by the Nazis, handing in a note in middle school and high school from my mom letting my teachers know that I was the granddaughter of two Holocaust Survivors and may need to excuse myself for that lesson.
While unfortunately my grandparents are no longer here, and my days of secondary school are long in the past, it’s all still personal. When I visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. and look at the shoe exhibit, I wonder if any were worn by my family. At Yad Vashem in Israel, when I look at the faces of those who perished, I think about whether I am looking into the eyes of a relative. And when I am meeting someone and they ask me if I am related to another Lefkowitz, I smile but silently know that’s not my family’s born last name.
My Bubbe, Helen, was a Survivor of Auschwitz, my Zayde, David, escaped concentration camps until the very end of the war. Both were just teenagers at the beginning of the war. Helen and David met in a Displaced Persons Camp where they fell in love. They had their first child in the DP Camp, second on the boat en route to the United States, and the next three, my dad being the last, in Brooklyn, New York. Along the journey of becoming citizens of the United States, our family last name went from being Locuvitz to Lefkowitz, out of fear of not sounding American enough.
For some, sharing the harrowing experiences of what Survivors endured both before and during the war is most important to them. For me, it’s what happened after. Their legacy. My Bubbe and Zayde arrived in the United States with a few personal items, a couple of kids, and years of trauma. Yet here I am “talking” to you and I’m just one of their 13 grandchildren.
As a Major Gifts Officer at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, I often am asked the question along the lines of, “are you just saying you like your job or do you really like it?” My answer is usually along the lines of: “it’s a privilege to be standing here talking to you about investing in our Jewish community’s future. And, yes, I really do mean that! It’s a privilege to be here because I very much recognize if it weren’t for my Bubbe’s and Zayde’s resiliency and the work of organizations like the Jewish Federation, I would not be here today.”
To me, my job is personal and it’s a part of my grandparent’s legacy. It’s knowing that I am a part of an organization and community that prioritizes Holocaust education and remembrance while taking care of Holocaust Survivors both locally and in Israel. It’s helping send kids to Jewish overnight camp and summer programs, securing synagogues so kids can run free with their friends to play and learn, and sending young adults on Birthright so they can find their connection with Israel – all areas that shaped me into the Jewish young woman I am.
In addition to these life stage events, I believe there are individual moments that shape us into being proud Jews. For some, it’s knowing you came from Holocaust Survivors, for others, it’s the aftermath of October 7 – whether that be from rallying together to stand in solidarity with Israel, supporting each other after experiencing antisemitism or having the unifying feeling of courage when seeing mezuzot on door frames at a time when there is so much fear. For me, it’s all of the above.
In the face of so much hate in our community, I hope you will join me in remembering where you came from, thinking about what makes you proud to be Jewish, and helping create a vibrant and strong community for generations to come. And with Holocaust Survivors Day on June 4, which was officially recognized as a holiday through proclamations issued by Governor Josh Shapiro and former Mayor Jim Kenney last year, it is through this commitment to acknowledging those who ensured our collective future and to furthering this legacy of building a better tomorrow that we honor our Survivors and the lives they have and continue to lead.
Because of them, many of us, including myself, are alive today. Because of you, their memories and legacies continue to live on forever.
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Sarah Lefkowitz is a Major Gifts Officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. She is a third generation Holocaust Survivor, who currently resides in Midtown, Philadelphia.