Survivor Talk Sundays: George Erdstein

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Every survivor’s story is unique and provides a special, first-hand account of life before, during, and after the Holocaust. Hearing from local Michigan survivors helps us see all the victims of the Holocaust as real people who had–and lost–family, friends, and communities. Please join us on Sundays to listen to a survivor speaker. George Erdstein George Erdstein was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938 a few months after the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. At the time, his parents questioned if and how they could escape. After Kristallnacht, George’s father was arrested by the Gestapo and tortured. He was released when George’s mother presented an affidavit from a relative agreeing to sponsor his immigration to the United States. Later in 1939, George, his mother, and his sister were able to join his father in New York. “Even though the Holocaust took place over 75 years ago, the lessons are more relevant than ever and we should not forget them. The message of Zachor – to remember – must go on because tolerance is in jeopardy today more than it’s been in a long time.”