Queens Holocaust Center Honors Jewish Vets

From the Queens Tribune online.

QCC Holocaust Center Honors Jewish GI Vets

By MICHAEL CUSENZA

Two Queens elected officials earlier this week honored Jewish War Veterans of World War II at Queensborough Community College.

After helping to break ground on the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives, State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) presented citations to 14 JWV posts of Queens.

“As a member of the younger generation, I want to tell you we will never forget the actions of the Greatest Generation,” said Monserrate, who served in the Marine Corps.

Holocaust survivor Hannah Deutch addressed the diverse audience of veterans and civilians. She asked that those who saw firsthand the concentration camps stand up and be recognized. They received a rousing applause.

“We saw what no human being should have to see,” she said.

Padavan, an Army veteran, related a story of meeting a Jewish veteran who escaped the concentration camp at Dachau, came to the U.S., enlisted in the Army, and eventually helped liberate Dachau in 1945.

Deborah Dash Moore, renowned historian and author of “GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation,” spoke of the struggles of the Jewish soldier, including anti-Semitism within the ranks, dietary restrictions based in faith, and the liberation of the concentration camps.

“In 1995 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II,” she said. “This included the recognition of the Allied victory and the mass murder of European Jews. But what was left out was the experiences of more than 500,000 American Jews that served.”

Among the JWV posts represented at the ceremony were Rockaway Beach, Long Island City, Howard Beach, Jackson Heights/Elmhurst, Kew-Forest, and Maspeth.

The Holocaust Resource Center an Archives at Queensborough Community College houses an extensive collection of books, documents (including nearly 400 doctoral dissertations on microfilm), and audio-visual materials for use by students, teachers, scholars and any other interested persons. It’s the only Holocaust center in the United States that publishes educational guides for middle schools and high schools, and presently assists schools throughout the state to comply with a New York State law mandating the inclusion of the Holocaust in the social studies/global studies curriculum. Construction of the Center will be complete at the end of 2008.

Easily the most poignant moment of the day came when a veteran gently took the microphone from Councilman Monserrate and said to the captive crowd, “Freedom is not free. It never was free, and it never will be.”