The Jewish Federation of Greater Naples will host a free community program honoring Holocaust victims, including a former Naples resident whose courageous survival story is now featured in a local educational theatre production.
The Naples event will be April 17, from 7-8:15 p.m. at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center, 4720 Pine Ridge Road, Naples.
The program includes a candle-lighting ceremony and memorial readings followed by a live performance of “Remember: The Story of Abe Price.” The Day of Remembrance, or YomHashoah in Hebrew, honors the memories of the six million Jews killed by Nazis before and during World War II.
Written by veteran Broadway actor Jeffrey Binder, and performed by Gulfshore Playhouse Education, “Remember” is an original play based on the life of 16-year-old Abraham Piasecki, who escaped Nazi captivity five times after the invasion of Poland. Piasecki, who would change his last name to Price, endured life in the Kielce ghetto as well as imprisonment at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Price eventually settled in Indiana, and later in Naples, where he was a prominent advocate and frequent speaker in Collier County schools and on behalf of the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center, a sponsor of Monday’s event. Price died in 2014 at 91. An oral history video interview with him can be viewed here.
“Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only an opportunity to pay tribute to those who lost their lives to hate but also to say, ‘Never again’ to all forms of genocide,” said Jeffrey Feld, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples. “We look forward to sharing Abe Price’s story of resilience and survival with the community, and deeply appreciate the partnership of both Gulfshore Playhouse and the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center.”
The event is free to the public, but advance registration is requested. Please visit https://jfgn.regfox.com/yom-hashoah to register.
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