Last week, Sonia Symchowicz of Livingston shared her story of survival during the Holocaust with 50 members of the community at MetroWest NJ in Whippany.  The event, a Lunch and Learn session, was sponsored by The Holocaust Council of MetroWest, a program of United Jewish Communities.

Born in Poland, Symchowicz credits her survival to the “miracle” of being forced to march 250 miles to Russia instead of being taken to a concentration camp in Germany.  She and her family spent ten months in sub-zero Siberia before being moved to Central Asia, where the temperature often topped 100 degrees.  

Miraculously, the entire family survived the war.  Symchowicz arrived in the United States in 1948 and worked for Bartons Candy for many years.  She and her late husband, Sam, had three daughters, all of whom grew up in Livingston, and five grandchildren.

The next Lunch and Learn session will take place on February 9. Further information about Holocaust Council programs is available by contacting Barbara Wind at (973) 929-3066 or bwind@ujcnj.org, and by visiting www.ujcnj.org/holocaust.