A story from the Holocaust you probably don’t know

When people think about the horrors of the holocaust, Italy is not one of the European countries that people generally associate with it, and that’s unfortunate. The atrocities of the Nazis were, of course, perpetrated on the Italian people as well as the over 20 countries the Germans invaded In Europe and Africa during the war.

In 2004, during a tour of the Roman Ghetto, Joel Markel, owner of Preferred Home Healthcare and Nursing services, first heard the story of Kappler’s Gold, an extortion plot perpetrated by Herbert Kappler, the head of the SS. He demanded 50 kilos of gold within 36 hours or 200 Jewish family heads would be deported. Markel immediately felt connected to this story because for generations his family had worked as jewelers and he was moved to produce a documentary which tells the story of the Roman Jews living in Nazi-occupied Rome.

It’s an important story about this unique and historic community and one that is rarely told. Presented by the organization Second Generation at Congregation Ohev Shalom, an organization which strives to make sure the Holocaust is never forgotten and will never happen again, Markel’s film, “Oro Macht Frei” (“Gold Will Set You Free”), will be screened to the public at the Marlboro Jewish Center in Marlboro, New Jersey.

The film was awarded the best international documentary prize at the 2015 Garden State film Festival. This free screening is a part of Marboro Jewish center’s Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) program and will take place on Wednesday, April 11, at 7:00 PM at the Marlboro Jewish Center, congregation ohev shalom, 103 School Rd. W., Marlboro, NJ.

For more information about the Yom HaShoah program or Second Generation, call Marvin Glickstein, president of Second Generation, at 732-972-0259 or the synagogue office at 732-536-2300.

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