Judith Koeppel Steel escaped Germany with her family in 1939 aboard the MS St. Louis, only to be turned away by Cuba and the United States and sent back to Europe. She disembarked in Belgium and was imprisoned in the Gurs internment camp, and then hidden by a French Catholic couple who were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations decades later. In 1946, after learning that both her parents had been killed in Auschwitz, Judith was sent to the United States, where she was adopted by her aunt and uncle in New York and ultimately became a Cantor.
Join Judith and Jacqueline Smith, the Museum’s Manager of Gallery Education, for this Stories Survive program exploring Judith’s experience of rescue and survival.
A $10 suggested donation enables us to present programs like this one. We thank you for your support.
Stories Survive is made possible by the Goldie & David Blanksteen Foundation.
Public programming at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act; and other generous donors.
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