Jewish Community Partners

Memphis Jewish Federation’s 62nd Annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration was marked with hope and sorrow. Guests experienced the joy of gathering in community and holding out hope for better days to come, while also acknowledging the heartbreak of the attack on Israel, the hostages still in captivity and the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.
Scott Notowich, Federation Board Chair, opened the program with welcoming remarks and led a moment of silence in memory of the victims of October 7 and its aftermath, which was followed by a beautiful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” performed by Cantors Ricky Kampf and Aryeh Samberg.
Dorothy Goldwin, a second generation survivor, and her daughter, Michelle Goldwin Kaufman, co-chairs of Federation’s Holocaust Memorial Committee, welcomed guests and thanked local dignitaries, senior law enforcement officers, and elected officials for their attendance, including Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, the Mayors of Bartlett, Germantown and Lakeland, and State Representative Tom Leatherwood. Survivors, rabbis, war veterans, community leaders, cantors, and educators in the audience were also acknowledged.
Dorothy also thanked Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein, Federation Executive Vice-President and Lorraine Wolf, Federation Manager of Community Impact, for their leadership, and thanked musicians Dr. Ken Boer and Amelia Boer. Student winners from the 15th Annual Holocaust Art and Essay Contest were recognized, along with their teachers.
This year’s first place essay winner was Shuzhen Zeng, a senior at Houston High School. Lyara Greene, a seventh grader at Riverdale Middle School, and Yaheli Zalman, an eighth grader at Margolin Hebrew Academy, tied for first place in the art contest.

Michelle Goldwin Kaufman took the podium to introduce third generation survivor Shoshana Cenker and her children Aiden, Kivi, and Lyla. To begin the Candle Lighting, Shoshana and her children read bios in honor of living survivors and their family of blessed memory and for survivors of blessed memory.
During the Candle Lighting, a single candle is lit to represent a survivor and their family members who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Collectively, the six candles represent the six million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust.
Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein remarked, “This year’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration has special significance. Our community continues to be in pain caused by October 7, its aftermath, and the hostages being held in captivity by Hamas. We bring that present and real pain to this Commemoration, while we mourn during our remembrance of the Holocaust and its atrocities. Yet, we have hope. We bear witness to Michael’s survival story, and we know we can persevere and keep going.”
Pianist Dr. Boer and his daughter Amelia, violinist, gave a moving musical performance and then keynote speakers Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat took the stage.
Debbie and her father Michael shared the story of Michael’s survival from Auschwitz. He was only four when he and his grandmother escaped, but he still has his prisoner tattoo on his forearm and showed it to the audience. The sadness and shock in the room was evident.
Debbie and Michael detailed Michael’s journey from a small town in Poland, where he lived in an open ghetto. When the Nazis declared that Michael’s town was to be cleansed of all Jews, he was forced into a cattle car with his mother Sophie, father Israel, grandmother Dora, and older brother Samuel, and was taken to Auschwitz.
When they arrived, Michael was immediately separated from his family and sent to the children’s barracks, where he shared a small, hard sleeping space with dozens of other children. When remembering that time, Michael said, “The children were given very little to eat and many of us were slowly starving to death. My mother, at great risk to herself, would hide extra bread in her clothing and bring it to me.”
Debbie told the audience about her father’s liberation from Auschwitz and the miracle that made it possible for him to escape. His father had been killed and his mother was sent to a camp in Austria. Michael’s grandmother, Dora, was still alive, and kept him hidden. He became very ill, and Dora snuck him into Auschwitz’s infirmary.

She did not know there would be a camp death march, and the whole camp was emptied. However, Michael stayed safely in the infirmary, which had not been checked for prisoners. When the camp was liberated in 1945, Michael and his grandmother escaped.
Debbie and Michael closed their presentation with a family photo showing Michael and his wife with their children, grandchildren, and other family members. Debbie remarked, “This photo shows 79 family members who are all connected to my father. His survival from Auschwitz led to this photo. If one person can make that level of impact on the world, imagine what we lost when 6 million Jews were murdered.”
Following the keynote speaker presentation, Dorothy and Michelle gave a heartfelt tribute in memory of Sam and Frieda Weinreich for their numerous contributions to Yom HaShoah commemorations during their lifetime. To further honor Sam and Frieda’s memory, Federation made a gift to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and presented memorial certificates to Sam and Frieda’s daughters, who were in attendance.
Rabbi Abe Schacter-Gampel, of the Memphis Jewish Community Center, led the audience in singing “The Partisan Song” in memory of Sam Weinreich, who performed the song at almost every Yom HaShoah Commemoration since 1962.
Tehillim (prayers) were led by second generation survivors Shelby Baum and Rebecca Gerber. Second generation survivor Harry Diament led the Mourner’s Kaddish. The closing benediction was given by Rabbi Ian Lichter of Baron Hirsch Congregation.
To close the program, Eleanor Tallie Steinberg of Temple Israel invited former IDF soldiers to join her in front of the stage as she sang “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem.
Lorraine Wolf said of the Commemoration, “Having Michael and Debbie as keynote speakers was such a privilege. We thank the Tennessee Holocaust Commission for helping to make that possible. We are also thankful for the 430+ community members who attended this year’s event.”