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The following was submitted by Chabad of Wakefield:
On Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m., residents of Reading and surrounding towns will have a rare opportunity to hear directly from a living Holocaust survivor.
Chabad of Wakefield is hosting Tibor Spitz at the William Endslow Auditorium at Reading Memorial High School, 62 Oakland Road, Reading, for an evening of testimony, reflection, and remembrance.
Tibor Spitz was a child in Slovakia when Nazi occupation upended his life. Anti-Jewish decrees forced him out of school and stripped his family of their property and security. As mass deportations to Auschwitz escalated, his family fled into hiding in the Slovak mountains, where they endured freezing conditions and constant danger while German forces searched the region for Jews in concealment.
Most of his extended family was murdered during the Holocaust. Through resilience, courage, and circumstance, Spitz survived.
In the years that followed, he rebuilt his life with determination. He earned a PhD and established himself as a scientist and inventor, contributing to technological advances that helped shape the modern digital world.
Alongside his scientific accomplishments, he became an accomplished artist, using visual expression to convey memory, loss, and survival.
Now 96 and living in Upstate New York, Spitz continues to travel and speak to communities, schools, and institutions, sharing firsthand testimony at a time when survivors are becoming fewer each year.
Rabbi Sruly Brook, of Chabad of Wakefield, said the program carries urgency and significance.
“There is something profoundly different about hearing these events from someone who lived through them. It transforms history from something distant into something deeply personal.”
The program is open to the public. Tickets are $20, with $10 tickets available for students. A limited number of VIP reception tickets will provide an opportunity to meet Tibor Spitz prior to the event.
Seating is limited and advance registration is required. Tickets can be purchased at Jewishwakefield.com/tickets or by calling 781 205 9593.
Community members of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend and take part in an evening dedicated to remembrance, education, and the responsibility to carry history forward.
