In August of 1944, the Nazis liquidated the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. Among the last prisoners to leave were 250 male and 250 female Jews deemed “essential” workers in one of the ghetto’s slave labor factories. This group of 500 was transported directly to Auschwitz, but their ordeal did not start or end there. Tulsa resident Eva Unterman was on that transport.
Unterman will share her courageous story as she addresses the topic “The Last Transport: My Childhood During the Holocaust” as the featured speaker for the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education’s 18th annual Yom HaShoah/Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration on Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Emunah, 1719 S. Owasso. The public is invited to the free presentation.
Parking is limited at B’nai Emunah, but overflow parking will be available at Temple Israel, 2004 E. 22nd Place. A free shuttle service from Temple Israel to B’nai will begin at 6 p.m. and resume for an hour following the event.
After the commemoration, Unterman will sign copies of the book “Through Eva’s Eyes,” a memoir recounting her experiences in the Holocaust, written and illustrated by her granddaughter Phoebe Eloise Unterman. Copies of the book will be available for purchasing.
The Holocaust Commemoration is sponsored by the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education, a committee of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, and the Tulsa City-County Library, in cooperation with dozens of local interfaith and community organizations.
As in past years, the commemoration program includes an exhibit of projects created by Tulsa area students of the Holocaust. In addition, music will be performed, and there will be a candle lighting in memory of the Jewish children of Lodz who were killed in the Holocaust. Plus, the Tulsa City-County Library will have available for checkout many Holocaust books and media.
Contact the Jewish Federation of Tulsa at 918-495-1100 for more information about the commemoration.