A pre-Holocaust Hanukah menorah that was carefully hidden away in World War II while Nazis hunted Jews in then-Czechoslovakia appeared Monday evening at a Jewish holiday celebration at the French Consulate in New York.
More than 150 people attended the invitation-only celebration organized by Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rebetzin Ester Cohen, including Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis and French Consul General Cedric Fouriscot.
The 19th century menorah, which once adorned the lectern of a synagogue in Czechoslovakia burned down by the Nazis during Kristallnacht (Nov. 9, 1938), belongs to an extensive Judaica collection owned by Thomas and Sonia Gelb.
“Thanks to local residents, this candelabra along with the Sefer Torahs were rescued and removed from the synagogue before its devastating destruction,” according to a description of the piece.
“These saved items were hidden in a local church and safeguarded by the local priest. After WWII the saved contents of the shul were returned to the Jewish community.”
“The menorah is a very special piece in my collection,” Gelb said.
“May this menorah be a symbol, and its light be an eternal flame and a mission to be “a light unto all the nations”- a day to proclaim freedom and peace and friendship of all nations around the entire world.”
