The Shoah Commemoration Service on Sunday, May 1, will feature guest speaker Dave Lux, who was one of the 669 Jewish children in Czechoslovakia saved from the Nazis by British humanitarian Sir Nicholas George Winston’s brave effort known as the “children’s transport.”
The talk, entitled “The Power of Goodness,” is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies – Muskegon, the event takes place at 3:30 p.m. at Samuel Lutheran Church, located at the corner of 8th Street and Muskegon Avenue.
Unassuming and humble, Winston devised the rescue efforts, which included safe passage to England and finding homes for the children. They were not made known to the world for 40 years, until the late 1980s. Dubbed the “British Schindler” by the British press, Winston was awarded the Czech Republic’s highest honor, the Order of the White Lion, in October 2014. Featured on CBS’ 60 Minutes, Winston died at the age of 106 in July 2015.
Lux, who was born Isidore Pinkasovich on April 12, 1933 in the small village of Negrovic, Czechoslovakia, felt the wrath of the fascist storm in 1939 when his family’s home was broken into and looted. He will recount how he and his brother were taken to Prague and to one of eight trains that brought them to safety in England. Winston single-handedly established an organization to aid children from Jewish families at personal risk from the Nazis. He set up his office at a dining room table in his hotel in Wenceslas Square.
Reception for Lux on May 2
On Monday, May 2, Lux will be honored at a public reception at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1206 Whitehall Road. The reception begins at 7 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres and desserts with coffee, tea and punch will be served. The event is free but donations to the Center for Holocaust and Gender Studies – Muskegon will be accepted. No reservations are required, but those planning to attend may RSVP to: chgs.muskegon@gmail.com or call (231) 722-2702 and leave your name and the number of persons attending.