The Catholic Community of Christ Our Light in Cherry Hill will recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a visit from Marvin Raab, a renowned Holocaust educator who will share stories of his mother’s heroic participation in an uprising of Jewish death camp prisoners in Poland.
The event will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in the parish center gym. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is Jan. 27.
From 1942 to 1943, it is estimated that 250,000 Jewish prisoners died in Sobibor, Poland, an extermination camp run by Nazi, Germany. Unlike concentration camps, Sobibor was created for the sole purpose of killing Jews.
In the summer and fall of 1943, Esther Raab was among a group of Sobibor prisoners who organized a revolt against their captors. On Oct. 14, the 300-strong resistance killed several guards and escaped. More than 100 of those who escaped were eventually recaptured and killed; Esther Raab was among those who remained free and survived. She eventually moved to Vineland, where she died in 2015.
The story of Esther Raab and her fellow prisoners “is an amazing [one] of bravery and strength,” says Rita Cinelli, a friend of Marvin Raab for the past 25 years, as well as his mother.
Due to this friendship with the Raabs, she has become familiar with the inspiring tale of courage in the face of discrimination. The event, Cinelli said, will be an opportunity for attendees to learn more about intolerance still taking place today and ways to fight for justice.
Cinelli, a parishioner of Christ Our Light, is a member of the parish’s Justice and Outreach Commission.
Raab’s presentation “will teach how to have tolerance and compassion for others in a culture that can see so much hate,” Cinelli added.
For more information about the event, contact the parish at 856-667-2440. The Catholic Community of Christ Our Light is located at 402 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill.
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