Holocaust survivor’s 101st birthday celebrated with caravan
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the local community celebrated Hallandale Beach Holocaust survivor Julius Eisenstein’s 101st birthday with a drive-by caravan.
“There were a lot of wonderful things,” Eisenstein said regarding the celebration. “They had the mayor of Hallandale Beach [Joy Cooper] give me the key to the city.”
Officers from the Broward Sheriff’s Office led the caravan, which was put together by the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center in Dania Beach. The celebration ended in front of Eisenstein’s apartment building in Hallandale Beach. It included a cake, balloons and poster-sized photos featuring his childhood, liberation and recent events.
Eisenstein was born on Oct. 13, 1919 in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. Among the concentration camps he survived include Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau. He has shared his story publicly over the years, especially to high school and college students during the HDEC’s Student Awareness Days. His purpose is to ensure that what happened to him and others who suffered through the Holocaust does not happen again to anyone in the world.
“Julius has devoted his life to ensuring that we stop hate, violence, prejudice, bullying and bigotry,” said Rositta E. Kenigsberg, the HDEC’s president said. “He is a 21st century hero, so we thought it was important to honor and cherish him with this birthday celebration for all of the work and life commitment that he has given to so many students and teachers in our community, as he really understands what hatred and prejudice can do.”
Whenever he has spoken with students, Eisenstein said he always makes the statement, “You don’t have to like me, but why do you have to hate me?”
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