Holocaust Survivor Speaks At Women's Club Event

BABYLON VILLAGE, NY — Holocaust survivor Ester Basch Turet shared her story on Thursday to a captivated audience at The Conklin House. The Babylon Village Women's Club (BVWC) organized the event, attended by club members and other local residents, as a way to share an increasingly rare experience: hearing a firsthand account of surviving the Holocaust. The afternoon tea was dubbed "a story of strength, courage and forgiveness."

Robyn Silvestri is a Babylon Village trustee who helped organized the event along with the Conklin House steering committee. She told Patch that Turet's grandson lives in Babylon Village and when she heard Ester was visiting for the holidays from her home in Arizona she knew she wanted to find a way for her to tell her story to the community. The Conklin House serves as a space for community education and the cultural arts and the event was free.

Silvestri explained that even at age 91, Turet "really wants to tell her story as often as possible." The audience of 40 people was inspired by the ultimate positivity of Turet's speech who included well-known quote :"I cannot forget but I can forgive because if I don’t forgive, then I suffer, and I suffered enough.”

"It is so important to get this story out," said Silvestri. Turet was 16 when she arrived in Auschwitz. She ultimately settled in Deer Park, raising her family there.

Stephanie Cosentino, a BVWC member, told Patch "it was very intense. I bawled."