Yom Hashoah in Fort Myers

In addition to Yom Hashoah services that are held in local shuls, the Jewish Federation arranges an Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service each year. The location of the service alternates between synagogues and churches in the area.

This year the service was held at St. Hilary's Episcopal Church in Fort Myers. Participating in the service was several of the local clergy, including Rabbi Sendrow and Cantor Geigner from our shul. It was a moving service, with a candle lighting ceremony by survivors who live in the area.

The keynote speaker was Anatole Kurdsjuk of North Fort Myers, the author of "The Long Walk Home: With Miracles Along the Way." It tells the story of his parent's and grandparent's life in Belorussia under the tsar, and their exile to Siberia under the communists. Born before the war, he tells the story of a boy's life under Nazi occupation and escaping from the returning Russian army. His family then endured a 500-mile forced march and more than two years in a German slave labor camp, before being liberated by General Patton's Third Army. They eventually were able to emigrate to the United States.

Having read his book, it was a strange experience to hear him tell his story. How often do you read a historical book, and then get to hear the main character bring it to life? It is certainly an occasion I will remember for a long time.