[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E809-E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ``IT MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN, LEST IT BE REPEATED,'' A TRIBUTE TO THE 
        LIFE OF MAX LEWIN ON NATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2003

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr Speaker, ``It must not be forgotten, lest it be 
repeated.'' This is the message of the life of West Virginia Holocaust 
Survivor Max Lewin. Though Max left us this year, his community in 
southern West Virginia recently honored him. Today, on National 
Holocaust Remembrance Day I wish to share with my colleagues the story 
of Max Lewin, a proud West Virginian and a brave Survivor.
  No phrase should ever weigh heavier upon our collective conscience 
than, ``it must not be forgotten, lest it be repeated,'' as we consider 
world history, and negotiate America's foreign policy and humanitarian 
priorities. The lesson of what happened during the Holocaust surely 
shows us that every day we live in a world of diversity, filled with 
respect for peoples of various religious, ethnic, and racial 
backgrounds is a day that assaults the vile teachings of the Nazi 
regime. Every day that as legislators of this great Nation we look 
across the globe and make certain no person or group of people are 
singled out to live lives of indignity, is a day we truly remember the 
lesson of the Holocaust. Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us 
come together to remember our great teachers of this lesson.
  So that I may share with my colleagues the story of Max Lewin, I ask 
that this recent article in the Beckley Register-Herald be printed in 
the Record.
  The article follows:

           [From the Register-Herald Reporter, Apr. 7, 2003]

                 Holocaust Memorial to Honor Max Lewin

                        (By Mannix Porterfield)

       Even before his health began to fail, Max Lewin made sure 
     his tortured life as a Holocaust victim and the lessons of 
     the 20th century's darkest hours were never forgotten.
       What he did was make a pact with a 10-year-old girl to keep 
     alive not only his excruciating memories but those of the 
     Holocaust in general.
       That promise was kept, and Margaux Siegel, now 11, will 
     cover Lewin's heroic struggles Sunday in this year's 
     Holocaust Memorial, set to begin at 1 p.m. in Mountain State 
     University's Carter Hall.
       ``Max felt his greatest fear was that the story would die 
     with him and its lessons wouldn't be learned,'' explained 
     Margaux' father, Dr. Normal Siegel.
       Lewin was the key figure in past Holocaust services in 
     Beckley, a difficult assignment for a man who lost most of 
     his family after German troops stormed into Poland in 1939, 
     signaling the start of World War II.
       ``I think certainly he had an authentic voice, though 
     sometimes it was difficult to hear precisely what he was 
     saying,'' Siegel said.
       ``I think, through his accent and tears, everyone felt the 
     pain.''
       Lewin died last Aug. 24 at the age of 83.
       A slight man with an ever-present smile belying the pain of 
     surviving the murderous regime of the Nazis, he often sought 
     to rekindle interest in the Holocaust by calling on schools 
     in West Virginia to teach its lessons.
       In several newspaper interviews, Lewin voiced a fear that 
     future generations, as the adage holds, would be condemned to 
     repeat history if such lessons were ignored.
       This year's service, in fact, marks the first such occasion 
     in which the Lewin story is told in the third person.
       A gifted writer who won an award last year in elementary 
     school competition, Margaux relied on numerous newspaper 
     clippings chronicling Lewin's storied life from 1978 forward. 
     In addition, an old friend of his, Helen Huzoski of Pax, 
     provided access to his personal papers.
       Affidavits also were researched, and a letter from a German 
     court confirmed his concentration camp serial numbers.
       Actually, Margaux has delivered her vivid account of 
     Lewin's life on other occasions, where the audience was 
     limited to two or three. Come Sunday, the audience will be 
     considerably larger. ``She had promised him she would tell 
     his story when he wasn't around, so this is sort of 
     fulfilling it,'' her father said.
       Strangers would never have guessed the kind, gentle Lewin, 
     a fixture in Beckley's business community for years, had 
     suffered unimaginable pain at the hands of the Nazis, 
     although a trace of sorrow never quite escaped his smile.
       Even those familiar with his story couldn't have stepped 
     into his shoes for a full appreciation of his life.
       In a eulogy at Lewin's funeral, Rabbi Victor Urecki put it 
     succinctly: ``None of us could ever imagine what it was like 
     to be Max Lewin. He always tried to smile. He never lost his 
     respect for humanity, his love for humanity.''
       For Lewin, the placid, country life of a farm family was 
     shaken at the roots when his native land was invaded.
       In a tear-laden 1996 interview, he recounted for The 
     Register-Herald the horrific scenes that ensued.
       Some 100 robust young men were gathered by the invaders, 
     given shovels and ordered to dig a 4-foot-deep trench. Jews 
     were lined on either side, then gunned down, and the youths 
     were then directed to spread dirt over the victims, some 
     still writhing in agony.
       Lewin lost most of his family in a mass execution March 10, 
     1943. A sister succumbed in a concentration camp. A brother 
     died in another mass murder a few weeks afterward.
       Lewin's wife, Fruma, only 19, vanished, presumably a victim 
     of the Nazi execution squads.
       Arriving in America after surviving Auschwitz, he joined 
     older brother Harry in launching Harry's Men's Shop, a 
     business he inherited and kept running after Harry's death in 
     1982.
       Lewin lent his experiences to the Governor's Commission for 
     Holocaust Education that works to keep alive the tragic 
     lessons of the past.
       As she has done in past observances, Sam Armstein will 
     serve as master of ceremonies at the Sunday memorial.
       Amie Lamborn of Charleston and Michelle Levin, wife of Dr. 
     Barry Levin, will conduct the ``Lighting of the Candles,'' 
     followed by Huzoski's narrative, ``Understanding,'' another 
     look at Lewin's life.
       ``Max, Mountain University and Me'' will be performed by 
     James Silosky, the school's executive vice president and 
     provost for extended learning.
       Another tradition, this one embracing the audience, ``The 
     Tearing of the Cloth,'' will be led by Mark Lamborn, also of 
     Charleston. Dr. Joseph Golden of Beckley will offer a 
     commentary on Holocaust prevention.
       ``Growing Up With Survivors'' will be presented by Dr. 
     Levin, after which Tom Sopher will perform a poetic reading.
       The Holocaust claimed a known 6 million Jews in Europe and 
     some of them will be recalled personally with the traditional 
     ``Reading of the Names,'' led this year by Beckley attorney 
     Stan Selden. Members of the audience will be invited to help 
     with the reading.
       Rabbi Paul Jacobson, acting rabbi at Temple Beth-El, will 
     perform a song, ``El Malei Rachamin,'' and say the kaddish, a 
     Jewish mourner's prayer. Pianist for the program will be 
     Becky Leach, also of Beckley.
       Seven years ago, MSU dedicated a special section of its 
     campus to the memory of the city's most renown Holocaust 
     survivor with ``The Lewin Family Bell Tower.''
       Inscribed on it are the names of Lewin's parents, Yechiel 
     and Sarah; wife Fruma; and his siblings, Awner, Joseph, 
     Harry, Leah, Hannah and Chaia.
       Just above those names, a phrase captures the reason for 
     revisiting the horrors of the Third Reich in such ceremonies:
       ``It must not be forgotten, lest it be repeated.''

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