Holocaust Survivor Honored By MLFD And NCPD

Shevy Berkovits (left), detective sergeant and deputy commanding officer, Community Affairs, Nassau County Police Department, congratulates Holocaust survivor George Oscar Lee. — Shevy Berkovits (left), detective sergeant and deputy commanding officer, Community Affairs, Nassau County Police Department, congratulates
Holocaust survivor George Oscar Lee.

During the Law and Order after the Holocaust program hosted by the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HTMC), Holocaust survivor George Oscar Lee was honored by the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (MLFD) and the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) for his past heroic actions in creating a fire brigade and professionalizing the police force in the Föhrenwald Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany shortly after liberation.

From left, back row: Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (MLFD) Firefighters Blaise Christoforatos, Matt Burke, Stephen John, Gary Halitzer and Doug Hwee; center: Beth Lilach, senior director of Education and Community Affairs at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County (HMTC); Phillis Lee, professor at Long Island University and George Oscar Lee’s daughter; Steven Markowitz, chairman of HMTC; Holocaust survivors Leah Lee and George Oscar Lee; Mitchell Littman, George Oscar Lee’s son; Deputy Chief Brian Stone, MLFD; and MLFD firefighters Sunjay Verma, Ex-Captain Matt Newman, Steve Lampert, Lt. Carly Farrone and Ed Hartrick; kneeling: MLFD EMT-CC Mitch Levine, Firefighter Dorin Rusu, EMS Henry Hong and EMS Timothy Hall

On his second day in Föhrenwald, Lee saw smoke coming from one of the survivors’ apartments and ran in to extinguish the flames. Realizing that the camp lacked a fire brigade, he obtained permission to form one. He was also disappointed with the few ragtag residents who called themselves police and transformed them into a well-trained, professional police force. This was the first time that Lee was honored for what he did at Föhrenwald.

Law and Order after the Holocaust was made possible by the support
of Astoria Bank. For more than 20 years, HMTC has been fulfilling its mission to teach the history of the Holocaust and its lessons through education and community outreach. For more information, call 516-571-8040, visit www.hmtcli.org or check out Facebook.com/HMTCNY and Twitter.com/HolocaustTolCtr.