Holocaust Remembrance Evening
Palm Beach Daily News
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Holocaust Remembrance Evening—
Joanne Caras shared some of the stories that survivors had contributed to her book, The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook, at Holocaust Remembrance Evening May 9 at the Palm Beach Towers. It was presented by the Jewish Women’s Circle of the Palm Beach Jewish Center.
“Each of these survivors submitted recipes that they remembered from home or recipes that they cook today,” says Rebbetzin Hindel Levitin, who served refreshments based on recipes in the cookbook. "And the wealth of photos in the book is incredible. To see such large family photos and to know that only one person from that entire dynasty lives today to tell the story ..."
Levitin was moved by the story of a woman who, when she was only 18 months old, was put into hiding, in a hole in the wall, every single morning, while her mother was forced to labor in the ghetto. Every evening her mother would come home and take her out of the wall for a few hours and put her back there the next morning as she went to do labor again. From 18 months until 4 years old when the war was over, the little girl had not seen daylight. Now, as an adult, she credits her mother for the sacrifice she made.
“Another survivor who couldn’t remember what her mother’s face looked like made a chicken soup once and the aroma brought the image of her mother’s face to her. The recipe for her chicken soup is in the book as well,” said Levitin.
Proceeds from book sales from the evening will go to a soup kitchen in Israel that feeds 500 people per day.