Life After the Holocaust

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In 1951, when Sidney was 20 he moved to the United States of America to join his sister Lola and her family. To become a citizen of the United States he had to go to the Embassy in England to be asked a few questions. One of the questions was to know his background and to see if he was ever a member of a Communist Party. Sidney hated communism and raised his right hand to tell only the truth at the embassy to be able to live in the United States with his sister Lola and his uncle. Before departure, Sidney’s brother Isaac and his wife had just given birth to a child. This was very hard for Sidney since he was leaving his brother in England and was leaving his nephew who was the first one to be born after the holocaust. Sidney eventually arrived in the United States in New York to live with his sister Lola and his Uncle. Sidney eventually became a successful career as a salesman and manager at an appliance store while living in the United States. Even though Sidney survived the Holocaust and was healed by the horrors he experienced throughout the war, he never really opened up about what he had to experience. It wasn’t till in 1993 when he went to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC where he began to open up about his past with his daughter and her family at the suggestion of his son. Sidney has served on the Advisory Board of Facing History And Ourselves, an organization that is about helping children understand what the holocaust was, what people did to the Jewish people and how they attempted to de-humanize the Jewish people but failed. This organization also helps students learn about hatred and prejudice in everyday life and how to critically think to solving the problem. Sidney also dedicated his life by telling his story to classrooms. His goal is to educate the classrooms about the horrors from the Holocaust. He also wants to educate students on how to counter inhumanity and hatred with lessons that promote tolerance, understanding, compassion, courage and acceptance. In 2011, Sidney was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from St. Xavier University in Chicago, and in 2013, he was awarded the Philip K. Weiss Award for Storytelling for Peace and Human Rights.