In Berlin-Tieregarten, on November 10, 1938, in Potsdamer Strasse, Jewish traders remove traces of the Kristallnacht pogrom. Photograph exhibited at the information center of the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Photo by Karl H. Paulmann, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Congregation Or Shalom will honor the memory of Jacob Morewitz, who helped 86 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe, at its 13th annual Kristallnacht Community Commemoration.
The event, which takes place at 9 a.m. on Nov. 17, will include the a U.S. Senate Commendation from Sen. Richard Blumenthal being given to the Morewitz family on behalf of their late father and grandfather.
On Aug. 9, 1940, a ship called the S.S. Quanza left Portugal filled with Jewish refugees frantically trying to escape Europe. The ship docked at Vera Cruz, Mexico, where their visas indicated that they would be allowed to land. The Mexican authorities, however, questioned the validity of the visas of 86 of the refugees and prohibited them from coming ashore.
One of the passengers, a teenager, said in a telegram to his family. “We are trapped on this boat and we must now go back to hell,” he wrote.
Before heading back to Europe, the S.S. Quanza anchored briefly at the harbor in Norfolk, Virginia, to load up on coal. Morewitz, a Virginian maritime lawyer, learned of their plight and worked feverishly to find a way to enable their rescue. He succeeded.
Guest speakers will include Michael Dobbs of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and author of the book, The Unwanted and Victoria Redel, daughter of a Quanza survivor and author of a book based on the ship’s story. There will also be a screening of the acclaimed documentary about the Quanza, Nobody Wants Us, with its filmmaker Laura Seltzer-Duny.
The event is free and open to the public. Free parking and a shuttle bus will be available at High Plains Community Center. Congregation Or Shalom is located at 205 Old Grassy Hill Rd. in Orange.