Fairfield man to share story of survival May 22

With the number of living Holocaust survivors dwindling every day, Solano Chabad offers an opportunity to hear a Holocaust survival story directly from the survivor himself.

In 1942, Sy Karfiol was a 2-year-old living in Antwerp, Belgium, with his parents and older sister when one day his father, a diamond dealer, was captured by the Nazis, loaded into a truck and eventually sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Karfiol's mother learned of her husband's fate by word of mouth and realized the grave threat facing her children. With the help of a Catholic priest, she found a Catholic family willing to risk their own lives by hiding her children in their home in a small village outside of Brussels, according to Rabbi Chaim Zaklos of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Vacaville.

“She and the priest obviously chose wisely, as both he and his sister survived, as did their father,” Zaklos wrote in a press release. “Their mother was not so lucky.”

Karfiol has been speaking on the subject of his ordeal for a few years, according to Rabbi Zaklos, adding that he is relatively new to Fairfield.

In the years since World War II ended, he earned a degree in mathematics and computer science and built a career and a family.

“Many believe the best chance humanity has of not allowing that most dark period in history to fade into oblivion, or the truth of it reduced to a matter of debate, is for as many people as possible to hear and remember eye-witness accounts. The opportunity for this is becoming increasingly rare,” the press release concluded.

The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. May 22 at Chabad Center for Jewish Life 730 East Main St., Vacaville. Admission is $10 in advance, $15 at the door, $5 for students and $200 for sponsors.

For more information or to reserve a seat, visit, jewishsolano.com/RSVP or call 592-5300.