Renewing a tradition that began more than a century ago, the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage hosted a Community Passover Seder on Sunday, April 1, 2018. Nearly 40 guests participated in the special seder which was led by an experienced volunteer and Cape May County resident Rob Cozen. "Providing the opportunity to attend a seder in our facility was an idea that germinated after our high holiday services here last year," said Jane Stark, Executive Director of the Museum. "Many of the guests who attend services here have discovered the uniqueness of our history and return year after year. When the subject of celebrating Pesach here was suggested we said WHY NOT?!" Preparing for Pesach is a big task, whether at home or in this case, in a facility not normally used for such an event. A festive holiday menu was provided by our longstanding caterer from Vineland, N.J. Guests included the founder of the Museum, Michael Azeez and his wife Kathy as well as Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky. In the true spirit of the holiday, strangers became friends as they celebrated the journey from slavery to freedom in the environment of a long enduring one hundred and twenty five year old shul.

Topping off a week long roster of activities celebrating Stockton University's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Days of Service in Woodbine: Stockton's Sam Azeez Museum partnered with the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades of the Woodbine Elementary School for a day of service honoring Dr. King's legacy. The students and staff of the Museum created valentine cards which will be distributed to the residents at the Woodbine Developmental Center and to local nursing homes.

"Once My Name Was Sara", author I. Betty Grebenschikoff topped off Holocaust Education Month at the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage of Stockton University on May 31, 2016.She spoke to seventh and eighth grade classes from Woodbine and Egg Harbor Township about her experience as a German Jewish refugee who fled with her family to the only port in the world in 1939 that would admit European Jews without passports or visas...Shanghai, China.
Betty recalls her early childhood in Berlin, Germany, and then growing up in Shanghai, the city that became her home for eleven years. Each student received a copy of her memoir, which she cheerfully autographed and they learned about the efforts of Jewish families to escape the Nazi tyranny which was perpetrated against the Jews of Europe- the Holocaust.

Making a difference, one day at a time. More than 80 students assembled to hear two diverse accounts of Holocaust Survivors at Stockton University's Sam Azeez Museum. Child survivor of Auschwitz Rosalie Simon shared her experience as a 12 year old who escaped the fate of death through the intervention of "an angel." Cyla Kowenski,(l) recanted her life in displaced persons camps in Italy after her liberation from Nazi tyranny which resulted in the loss of her freedom from age 12 To 19.Her physical and emotional renewal resulted in a letter of thanks to the Italian people which is formally housed in The Italian American Museum in New York City.

Ruth Fisch Kessler, a child survivor of the Kindertrsansport, shared her story of hope and survival with a seventh grade class from the Alder Avenue School in Egg Harbor Township during Holocaust Education Month at the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage of Stockton University on May 19, 2016. Ruth was born in Vienna, Austria in 1933. After Germany incorporated Austria into the Third Reich, Vienna became unsafe for Jews. At the tender age of five her parents sent her to safety in England, one of 10,000 Jewish children who were provided safe haven by the British Government. Ruth's experience as a little girl being sent away from everyone and everything she knew and her eventual immigration to America at age twelve is revealed in her presentation as a child survivor. Her tender story provides students a different view of the Holocaust. Ruth evolved from her devastating childhood as a warm and loving wife, mother and grandmother, a living witness of the carnage of the Holocaust.

Celebrating survival and victory on a day of holocaust education at the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage of Stockton University. Sisters Charlotte Weiss (l) and Rosalie Simon visited the Museum on May 17, with an audience of 90 students assembled to meet and hear the real life account of their survival of Auschwitz. Rosalie, the youngest, was 12 years old. Charlotte, her older sister, actually saved her when she was running away from the situation which found her having been selected by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Charlotte dragged Rosalie into the large group of prisoners being marched to a barrack. By a miracle Mengele did not witness their actions. Both girls survived and were eventually reunited with their father and three other sisters. Their mother and only brother were murdered in Auschwitz.
The Museum is a designated teaching center for Holocaust Education by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education.

Teddy Bears and Transylvania, what a combination. Child Survivor Ruth Zinman shared her memories as a child in the Holocaust with middle school students from Dennis Township and Egg Harbor Township at the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage on May 12 and May 24, 2016. Her experience during the Holocaust caste a light on "hidden children” and her discovery that she too is a Child Survivor.
Ruth was born in Transylvania which was at the time part of Romania. With a mixture of humor and history she delighted the students with her knowledge of Dracula and his castle. She was born in castle too. Not a princess, but the daughter of a physician who worked for the state and was given the lodging as a result of his employment. After World War II started Romania became an ally of Germany. Jews were no longer safe there. Ruth's tales of being smuggled between villages on the borders of Hungary and Romania, the arrest of her father, deportation of her relatives and the loss of her beloved grandfather all the while being kept safe by her mother are chilling. She demonstrates her journey with her Teddy Bear, given to her by her grandfather when she was a very young child. Plush bare and slight of stuffing, her bear accompanies her to every visit with students. It represents Ruth's victory over the prejudice and hate that she endured as a Jewish child during the Holocaust.