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Coronavirus News: Charity feeding Holocaust survivors in NYC amid coronavirus pandemic

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Holocaust survivors observe day of remembrance from home

Lauren Glassberg reports on a the adjustments some have made to this year to this ritual observance

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There are 80,000 Holocaust survivors in the United States, about half in a Tri-State area -- and many are alone and isolated because of COVID-19.

The Holocaust ended 75 years ago, but this year's remembrance of those who died is fraught with its own challenges.

"We've never gathered under circumstances quite like these," Museum of Jewish Heritage President Jack Kliger said.

For the first time, Yom Hashoah is marked with virtual gatherings around the world, like the one by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan.

"Your resilience and conviction give us daily inspiration," said Evan Rosenberg, of 333 Charity. "These survivors are stuck in their homes."

Rosenberg has raised $10,000 for meals for Holocaust survivors, delivered by the UJA.

In November, the 34-year-old New Yorker launched 333, a charity that sells merchandise to remind people of Holocaust survivors. He's also planning a post-COVID-19 gathering.

"We are going to bring 60 Holocaust survivors together," Rosenberg said. "It will just be a way of getting survivors out of their houses, talk, socialize, have a good time."

333 Charity refers to 333 Seventh Avenue, the address of his great grandfather's fur business in New York. His relatives were told to go there if they survived the Holocaust, and they did.

It's a story his own grandmother shared with him when she realized Rosenberg was living at 333 East 46th Street. Charity 333 now has an even more important role when it comes to these survivors.

"It's showing people are there for them," Rosenberg said. "If they can't get out, we will be there for them."

On this Yom Hashoah, the hope is that these survivors make it through this time as well.