Glen Cove, NY - November 15, 2016 - Recently during the program Law and Order after the Holocaust, George Oscar Lee, a Holocaust Survivor from North Hills, NY, was honored by the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department and the Nassau County Police Department for taking it upon himself to create a fire brigade and professionalize the police force in the Föhrenwald Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Germany shortly after liberation.
On his second day in Föhrenwald, George saw smoke coming from one of the survivors’ apartments. He ran in and extinguished the flames. Realizing that the camp lacked a fire brigade, he got 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 George was honored for what he did at Föhrenwald.
Standing Back Row (L to R): Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department (MLFD) Firefighters Blaise Christoforatos, Matt Burke, Stephen John, Gary Halitzer, and Doug Hwee. Standing Center Row (L to R): 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; Leah Lee, a Holocaust Survivor; George Oscar Lee, a Holocaust Survivor from North Hills, NY, who was honored during the Law and Order After the Holocaust Program by the MLFD and the Nassau County Police Department; 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 (L to R): MLFD EMT-CC Mitch Levine, Firefighter Dorin Rusu, EMS Henry Hong and EMS Timothy Hall.
Law and Order after the Holocaust was made possible by the generous 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 on social media: Facebook and Twitter.