A holocaust survivor is coming to Chula Vista to discuss his experience living through the Nazi era and to talk about issues in the world today.
The Chabad of Chula Vista will be hosting 94-year-old Dr. Jacob Eisenbach at 7 p.m. on May 9 at The Venue at Eastlake, 871 Showroom Place #104.
Eisenbach lived through the Nazi ghetto in his native Lodz, Poland. When he was deported to the Nazi concentration camps, his younger brother chose to go with him.
Eisenbach details his account in the book, “Where You Go, I Go – The Harrowing Story of a Holocaust Survivor.”
Eisenbach eventually survived the war, immigrated to the United States in 1950, got married to a fellow Holocaust survivor, and went on to build a family and practice dentistry for 60 years before retiring two years ago.
Before the war, Eisenbach said he had nearly 100 family members in an extended family, after the war, he was the sole Holocaust survivor in his family.
He said he will use the lecture to spread a message of hope and survival during today’s times.
“I will be speaking about my experiences in the Holocaust,” he said. “My topics will cover areas of discrimination, hatred, anti-Semitism, holocaust and a subject of global importance, which is genocide.”
Eisenbach, who lives in Orange County, said people need to show love and compassion towards one another to make this world a better place.
“There is still hate in the world,” he said. “I don’t carry any hate in my heart but there is still a lot of hate and discrimination and genocide that is happening today in Syria and in Darfur. The people of the world have to unite to eliminate genocide.”
Rabbi Mendy Begun said Chabad Chula Vista is putting on this lecture so people can be educated about how hate lead to the holocaust and how hate is still the cause of recent horrific events.
“We still have today, very much hate, especially with what’s been happening with (mass) shootings and school shootings,” Begun said. “These shootings all come from the same source which is hate.”
Begun said people can learn a powerful message from Eisenbach.
“He is just a man of goodness, even going through the holocaust, which was the toughest time of his life,” he said. “He was a man of goodness and kindness and we hope he can bring that message. Instead of focusing on the hate, just the love and kindness.”
