Murray Goldfinger
Murray (Monek) Goldfinger of Monroe Township died Aug. 2, 2018. Born in Wierchomla Wielka, Poland, he was one of nine children, and the only one in his family to survive the Holocaust.
In March 1940, he and his family were forced to leave their home and move to Stary Sacz, a restricted area for Jews.
He was separated from his family at the end of March 1942 and sent to the Rosnov labor camp. In late August 1942, he was taken to Lipia, also a labor camp, and then transferred to the Tarnow Ghetto at the end of October. He was taken to Szebnie labor camp in March 1943 and stayed there until he was transferred to the Birkenau concentration camp in November 1943, receiving the tattoo 161108 upon his arrival. He remained there for five weeks in quarantine and was then sent to Jawiszowice, a sub-camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he worked in the coal mine. He was taken on the death march to Gleiwitz in January 1945, which lasted for approximately three days, and then transported by train to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he arrived two days later. He was liberated from Buchenwald on April 11, 1945.
The Red Cross took the youngest 300 children from Buchenwald to Switzerland, where the Swiss government had made arrangements for them to live. He was taken to the Hotel Pension Villa des Bains, a “kibbutz” owned by Hashomer Hatzair of Israel, where he was in charge of taking care of the cows until the spring of 1946.
A cousin, Louis Korn, from Haverstraw, N.Y., sponsored him to come to the United States and he arrived in New York on June 16, 1947. He moved to Newark and worked as a butcher before moving to Morristown in 1953, where he lived until 1997, when he moved to Monroe.
Mr. Goldfinger owned Speedwell Meats, a meat purveying company, from 1953 until shortly after his wife’s death in 2001.
He served as an active guest speaker on the Holocaust in public and private schools, synagogues, churches, and civic groups for more than 45 years.
Predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Margaret, he is survived by three daughters, Adele (Peter), Linda (Stephen), and Susan (Scott); five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Services were held Aug. 5 with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston. Memorial contributions may be made to CSE Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education, Murray Goldfinger Holocaust Studies and Travel Scholarship Fund, c/o College of St. Elizabeth, Institutional Advancement, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J. 07960.
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