An incredible story of survival before, during and after the Holocaust—including coming face-to-face with notorious Nazi, Dr. Josef Mengele, and a harrowing escape to England—will be told by Werner Reich when he is the featured speaker as Temple Israel of Great Neck marks the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

The program, on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., is open to the community.

Kristallnacht, German for what became known as “The Night of Broken Glass,” is considered by many to be the start of the Holocaust, but Mr. Reich said the title of his talk will be: “Was Kristallnacht Really the Beginning of the Holocaust?” because, by the time Kristallnacht took place, many had been killed, there had been many suicides, and
thousands of careers had come to a stop.

Temple Israel marks Kristallnacht each year with a solemn program and featured speaker.

Kristallnacht was a pogrom against Jews by the Nazis in Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938. Jewish shops and synagogues were smashed, many Jews were murdered, and tens of thousands were deported to concentration camps.

Reich and his family lived in Berlin when the Nazis came to power in 1933. His father, an electrical and mechanical engineer, lost his job prompting the family to move to Yugoslavia.

His father died in 1940 and the following year the Nazis occupied the country. His mother placed him in hiding along with several families. Reich joined one of the families, which was working for the resistance movement.

In 1943, he was arrested by the Gestapo, beaten and jailed for seven weeks. He was then sent to the Theresienstadt and Auschwitz concentration camps, where he survived three “selections” by Mengele. He was one of only 89 who were chosen to live out of 60,000.

In January 1945, after a seven-day death march, he ended up in Mauthausen, Austria. After liberation in May 1945, he returned to Yugoslavia and, after two years under brutal communism, he escaped to England where he worked as a laborer, and later as a tool and die maker.

Reich married another Holocaust survivor in 1955 and they immigrated to the United States where he eventually became an engineer.

Reich, who is related to Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum, a Temple Israel member, recently spoke to the legislature about hatred and tolerance.

During the past year he has also spoken in England, Portugal, Hong Kong, and Macao about his experiences during the war.

An active member of the Nassau County Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, “Mr. Reich is one of the most prolific, well known, and vibrant speakers about the Holocaust,” according to its Board of Directors chairman, Steven Markowitz.

“The story of Mr. Reich’s struggle for survival against insurmountable odds is one we should all hear,” said Temple Israel Shoah Remembrance Committee Chair Lori Oppenheimer.

Temple Israel of Great Neck, the region’s largest Conservative Jewish congregation, is located at 108 Old Mill Road. Further information about the program is available by calling Jennifer at Temple Israel, 482-7800.