Rego Park honors Holocaust victims

In honor of the 6 million Jewish people who lost their lives during the Holocaust, The Melodians recently presented a memorial service at the Queens Community House in Rego Park.
The event featured guest speaker Dr. Inge Auerbacher, a Queens resident and Holocaust survivor. Born in Germany on December 31, 1934, Auerbacher spent the ages of seven to 10 in the Terezin concentration camp.
“By a miracle, my mother, father and I survived,” Auerbacher said.
Auerbacher has chronicled her life experiences in three books - “I Am a Star: A Child of the Holocaust,” “Beyond the Yellow Star to America” and “Finding Dr. Schatz: The Discovery of Streptomycin and A Life it Saved.”
As part of their tribute to the Holocaust’s victims, The Melodians performed songs such as “We Will Always Remember,” “Tell Me Where Can I Go?” and “We the Partisans.”
The event also included a candle lighting ceremony. Holocaust survivors from all over the world including Germany, Austria, Poland, Siberia, Romania, Greece and Russia lit the candles.
“Remembrances of this kind are very important,” said Todd Ferrara, Chief of Staff for Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi. “Every year that goes by, there are fewer and fewer eye witnesses to what went on.”
Ferrara went on to talk about the impact that survivors have made in the local area.
“There’s a certain amount of pride that we can all take in the survivor community that we have here in Queens,” he said. “The people who managed to not only escape the tragedy of World War II in Europe, but came here and helped build a thriving community right here in the heart of New York City.”