Holocaust Survivor to Speak at Temple Sholom

Eva Wiener, a Holocaust survivor, will tell the story of her family’s escape from Germany during the Nazi years at Temple Sholom, 1925 Lake Avenue, in Scotch Plains, on November 9, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

On Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, November 9-10, 1938, Nazi Germany launched a mass assault on Jewish communities in Germany, Austria, and parts of Czechoslovakia. Over a thousand synagogues were burned, and over 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. Many Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps. Eva’s father was among those arrested, and he was sent from Berlin, where the family resided, to Poland.

The incarcerated men were released if they would leave Germany and surrender their property to the state. Eva’s mother was able to get passage for their family of three on the M.S. St. Louis bound for Havana, Cuba. On May 13, 1939, when Eva was just ten months old, she, along with her mother and father, set sail for Havana.

The St. Louis was refused permission to land in Cuba. The captain then headed to Miami, but the U.S. and Canada also denied the ship entry. Finally, the captain sailed to Antwerp, Belgium, where four countries (Holland, Belgium, France, and England) eventually agreed to take the refugees. Fortunately for Eva and her family, they were able to go to England where they survived the war. During the program Eva Wiener will share her family’s story of endurance.

This program is hybrid giving audience members the option of attending in person or on Zoom. However, registration is required. Please call the Temple Sholom office at (908) 889-4900 to register for in-person attendance or for the Zoom link. Also, kindly call the office if you need accommodation to participate in this event.

The program is presented through the generous support of the Rabbi Sidney Nathanson Fund and the Ruth Rutenberg Fund for Lifelong Learning.

Temple Sholom is a Reform Jewish congregation serving families from the greater Scotch Plains-Fanwood area and beyond. Temple Sholom, located at 1925 Lake Avenue in Scotch Plains, is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism. For more information about the temple or its religious school, please e-mail office@sholomnj.org or visit www.sholomnj.org