Jack Zaifman

Jack Zaifman, 94, of Pennington died May 25, 2016. A Holocaust survivor, he was liberated from the Dachau concentration camp in Germany and then resided in a displaced persons camp, where he met his wife Gizella before coming to Trenton in 1949.

After arriving in the United States, Mr. Zaifman became employed within one week. Three years after arriving in this country, he opened his own business, Jack’s Custom Shop, and progressively built a career in custom tailoring and retailing. 

He was active in his community, serving in organizations that include B’nai B’rith, Mercer Holocaust Advisory Committee, Kiwanis Clubs, and the Trenton JCC. 

Since 1977, he told thousands of students and community members his story of survival. To honor his commitment in sharing his story and to preserve his legacy, his family, in conjunction with the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, created the Jack Zaifman Humanitarian Award and supported publication of his autobiography Tailor Made For Life-A Story of Survival During the Nazi Holocaust.

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Predeceased by his wife, Gizella Friedman Zaifman, he is survived by two sons, Arthur (Lory) and Mark (Pat); two daughters, Pamela Zaifman and Sally (Elliott) Kagan; and four grandchildren.

Services were held May 27 with arrangements by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jack Zaifman Humanitarian Award (make checks payable to JZHA), 4 Buena Vista Road, Suffern, NY 10901.