Marking a 40-year commitment to interfaith unity, the Town of Fairfield will commemorate the Holocaust by welcoming survivor Eugene Ginter to speak at its annual Yom Hashoah observance on Wednesday, April 23 at First Church Congregational.
“The members of First Church of Fairfield are grateful for the trust placed in us as the hosts of this event,” said the Rev. Vanessa Rose, senior pastor. “It is the legacy of First Church to be deeply committed to our Jewish friends and neighbors and to work to fight anti-Semitism and foster an inclusive community. We believe that it is critical for Christians to be a part of the movement that bears witness to the atrocities perpetrated in the Holocaust and to join our voices in saying, ‘Never Again.’”
This year’s keynote speaker, Eugene Ginter, will share his personal story of survival, including his liberation from Auschwitz just days before his sixth birthday. Ginter, who was born in Krakow, Poland in early 1939, was forced into a ghetto with his family at the start of World War II. His mother worked in Oscar Schindler’s factory and his father, who could speak perfect German, worked for Amon Goth, the Nazi commandant of the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp.
“My job was to try to stay alive,” Eugene says.
When the ghetto was being liquidated, children like Eugene were being sent to concentration camps. Eugene’s father, Roman, stepped out of line and asked to die with his son. Together, they were sent to Birkenau and after a harrowing journey, were lined up in front of Dr. Josef Mengele, who sent their group to the gas chamber. As Eugene and Roman were being marched to their death, Mengele learned that the Russians were close and was instructed to halt any more prisoners from entering the gas chambers. Eugene and his father endured the camp together until Roman was deported to Mauthausen, and Eugene, at the tender age of five, was sent on a death march to Auschwitz.
The Fairfield Holocaust Commemoration Committee is chaired by Adele Jacobs, the daughter of two survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps.
“At this time in the world, when Jew hatred has increased by 400%, it has never been more crucial to gather together, and to show that the Town of Fairfield stands against antisemitism,” Jacobs said. “This is not only a critical time to gather and show that we are not indifferent, but it is a wonderful milestone of 40 years standing together with the First Church and our interfaith partners, in solidarity and in love. Please join us and bring your families. We can never be a better example to our children than to stand together against hatred.”
The commemoration will begin at 7:30 PM with a candlelight procession, where volunteers will read the names of Nazi concentration camps. The Fairfield First Selectman’s Office, the Town of Fairfield Police Department, Fairfield County Children’s Choir, and Fairfield Ludlowe High School Chamber Orchestra will be among the many town organizations participating in the ceremony.
This year’s commemoration will begin at 7:30 PM at First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, Fairfield.