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Yom Ha Shoah Lecture

Perspectives
Spring 99

MEET
Hedy Brasch

Shelah Fried

Ellen Gerstle

Gerald Gurland

Arlene Kesselhaut

Barbara LeFebvre

Hildred & Jerome Nozick

Joyce Reilly

Richard J. Tisch

Multi-talented, multi-lingual, and deeply committed. These are some of the phrases which describe Hildred and Jerry Nozick, lifetime members of the Center for Holocaust Study since 1994. Both graduates of the Rutgers University College of Pharmacy, the Nozicks lived in Amsterdam from 1960 to 1965 during which time Jerry completed his medical studies at the University of Amsterdam and Hildred developed proficiency in Dutch, her third language of fluency (after English and Yiddish). In 1961, Hildred was certified by Excerpta Medicaas a Dutch translator and began to translate scientific documents such as doctoral dissertations in medicine from Dutch to English. Continuing her work as translator to this day, she recently translated "Education after Auschwitz in a Multicultural Society," a new important paper by Dr. Ido Abram of the University of Amsterdam, reported to be the only Professor of Holocaust Education in Europe. The Center also has benefited from Hildred's linguistic acumen; whenever we are stuck on a word in one of the languages listed above or in any of the other languages which she reads well-German, Spanish or Biblical Hebrew-we know we can call on Hildred to help us out.

In addition to serving as translator, Hildred-along with Jerry-have continued to maintain strong ties to the Jewish community in the Netherlands. In 1994, they were privileged to bring a Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) from their synagogue in New Jersey to the newly restored synagogue in Middleburg, first built in 1705, used by the Nazis as a warehouse from 1940 to 1944, and destroyed by a British grenade during the battle for liberation in November 1944. Due to the efforts of the Dutch national, provincial, and local governments, and Dr. Aad Vos, a Righteous Among the Nations and friend of the Nozicks, the synagogue was rededicated on the Tuesday of Chanukah 1994. Jerry Nozick was given the honor of carrying the Torah into the synagogue during the rededication ceremony. In Hildred's words, "we have reaped the satisfaction of seeing a community reborn. Having studied the Holocaust, it has been heartening to see something so good occur fifty years after the majority of Jews of Middelburg (and of the Netherlands) were annihilated. It is an example of positive interaction between Jews and non-Jews and between secular and religious entities in an effort to heal the wounds left by the Holocaust and to keep alive the memory of those who perished."

Indeed, this effort to keep the memory alive has been one of Hildred Nozick's missions for years. During the time she served as president and vice-president of the Watchung Boro Board of Education, their school system initiated an award winning Holocaust education program. In 1994, she earned her masters degree in Modern European Intellectual History from Drew, completing a thesis on Abel Herzberg, a prominent Dutch jurist, journalist and Zionist who survived Bergen-Belsen. His diary of the war years has won numerous awards. In 1995, Hildred and Jerry participated in the first New Jersey Holocaust Commission trip to Poland and Israel, along with Thomas H. Kean, president of Drew University, Center co-director Ann Saltzman, and a dozen other Holocaust educators from across the state. All of us at the Center have benefitted immeasurably from Hildred's knowledge and devotion to the cause.

Jerry too has brought his many talents to the Center. A vascular surgeon by profession, he is also a beekeeper, skilled photographer, and expert cabinetmaker. Who among us hasn't received our yearly "dose" of Rosh Hashanah honey, harvested from the bees which Jerry keeps in the Nozicks' backyard? Continuing in the tradition of his great-grandparents who were beekeepers in Byelorussia, Jerry has provided us all with much sweetness over the years-as well as detailed photographic records of many Center events, taken by him in his unofficial capacity as "Center Photographer."

As if all this weren't enough, the Nozicks' devotion to our Center for Holocaust Study is also exemplified through their sponsorship of the Annual Yom HaShoah Nozick lecture and their contributions to the Irene and Simon Raicer Award for Achievement in SHOAH Studies, named in honor of Hildred's parents and presented annually to a graduating senior who has demonstrated academic excellence in Holocaust Studies. It is no wonder that at the Fourth Annual Nozick lecture last year, lecturer Abe Peck described the Nozicks as "the real thing." We couldn't agree more and hope that you will join us on May 5, 1999 at the Fifth Annual Nozick Lecture, when we honor Hildred and Jerry Nozick for five wonderful years of devoted and loving service.

Jerry and Hildred Nozick before 1994 trip to bring Torah (on left, with flames) to the Synagogue in Middleburg. The Torah cover, donated by the Nozicks, reads "The light of G-d is the soul of man."