Message of resilience emphasized as locals reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – Many lives were lost due to the horrific Nazi Holocaust that took place in Germany.
70% of Jewish Holocaust survivors will be gone in the next 10 years, a report shows
Several different groups of people were targeted as part of this mass genocide, including the 6 million Jews who were killed.
Dr. Joseph Golden is the president of the Temple Beth-El congregation. He helps organize the annual Yom Hashoah Holocaust Commemoration Service held at Carter Hall in Beckley.
Dr. Golden explained this observance began around 30 years ago with local Holocaust survivor, Max Lewin.
'He lost all his family that were in Europe from Poland at the concentration camps. Then he to transfers from one concentration camp to another and he survives. He was in his young twenties then,' said Dr. Golden.
Lewin kept silent about his personal experience with the Holocaust until the 1990's.
'He opened up to a group of us who were sitting around after a service and started telling us about his parents, his wife, his brothers and sisters, all who perished in the concentration camps. From that time on his willingness [grew] to tell his story to the community at large,' added Dr. Golden.
Although he passed in 2002, this tradition lives on in memory of Lewin.
Rabbi David Sofian was the featured speaker for this year's commemoration ceremony. His message centered around resilience after the reality of the Holocaust.
'Everyone needs to find resilience, particularly in difficult times. These are very difficult times. I thought it was an appropriate subject,' said Rabbi Sofian.
Dr. Golden said that, as people, we have the moral obligation to learn from and remember our past.
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'I quote George Santayana, who is an American philosopher and historian, who said many years ago, 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' We hope that by remembering and learning from this, we cannot repeat the horrors, the crimes against humanity that happened previously,' said Dr. Golden.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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