Needham Community Yom HaShoah/Holocaust Memorial Day Service

Needham Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration

Sunday, May 5, 7:15 pm

Register: t-b-s.me/yomhashoah

How Nazi Germany’s Destruction of Jewish Businesses Lives On in One Family

TBS member David Gumpert chronicles a journey of family discovery that begins in 1934 in the small German city of Darmstadt. Three members of his family—his grandfather, a great uncle, and a cousin—were tough hard-charging business owners in a country where at least half of the Jewish men owned their own businesses. Suddenly they were face-to-face with a government singularly focused on destroying their businesses—through criminal prosecution, media defamation, and boycotts. Gumpert describes his years-long search for their stories to help reveal an aspect of the Holocaust era that isn’t well known or understood. Yet this history has important implications for Jews today.

Our program will conclude with prayers of memorial by clergy from Temple Beth Shalom and Temple Aliyah, as well as the performance of the moving Yiddish melody, "Shtiler, Shtiler" ("Quiet, Quiet") by Liana Perlman.

About Our Presenter:

David Gumpert is a writer who co-authored a previous book about the Holocaust, a memoir about his aunt’s journey as a teenager escaping the Nazis in Belgium, France, and Switzerland (Inge: A Girl’s Journey Though Nazi Europe). He has also written books about entrepreneurship, small business management and food politics. He and his family have been members of Temple Beth Shalom for the past 40 years. Questions? Contact Jessica Baim.