Inside upstate retreat for aging Holocaust survivors living in NYC — where kugel baking is therapy

 

Some of New York’s last living Holocaust survivors escaped the city — temporarily leaving economic burdens, lonely apartments and surging antisemitism fears behind — for a weeklong summer respite in the mountains to partake in “simple joys.”

More than 40 survivors ranging in age from 80 to 105 — mostly Brooklynites living below the federal poverty level — gathered for an all-expenses paid, five-day trip to the Catskill mountains this week to bake kugel, make bracelets for former Israeli hostages and bond with others who share their harrowing childhood experiences.

“It’s a lifeline for them,” said Masha Pearl, executive director of Holocaust survivor fund The Blue Card, which has organized the $30,000 getaway since 2008.

“They are able to experience activities that promote socialization, mind-body rejuvenation and …. are able to receive support for the trauma they endured,” she added.

“Some of these people have lost their spouses, we hear some responses from them that this is the first time they smiled [since]. Some of them are opening up about their experiences that they haven’t opened up [about] before.”

The trip comes at a time when antisemitic attacks in New York City are on the rise — and vulnerable survivors are even more on edge about the Israel-Hamas war, Pearl said.

“Holocaust survivors are very alarmed by the news, many of them are glued to the TV — and one thing that therapists advise is to balance news with self-care activities,” she explained. “When they see protests or certain symbols, they are alarmed.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Pearl has witnessed a surge in requests for specialized therapy services from survivors — as hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers rose from 54% in 2024 to 62% in the first quarter of 2025, per NYPD statistics.

“There’s been calls, letters from survivors who are frightened,” Pearl said. “There’s that fear of ‘will I will be rounded up again,’ and ‘what are the next few years going to look like?’”

Many Holocaust survivors live below the federal poverty level for a “number” of reasons, the nonprofit said, from arriving as refugees after the war with nothing to having lost education, families and assets during the Holocaust and spending early adulthood trying to survive by working low-paying jobs.

“Now, in their late 80s, 90s, or older, they face expensive health needs, but many rely only on Social Security, which is not enough in a city as costly as New York,” a Blue Card rep said.

Many live in small, cramped apartments, Pearl added — and due to financial instability that many of them face, some don’t even run their AC in the summer.

“This lets them get away from their worries for five days,” she said, noting activities like chair yoga, swimming and aerobics is as important for physical health as kugel baking, arts-and-crafts and community bonding is for emotional health.

For many of the 14,700 Holocaust survivors living in the New York metro area — a cohort expected to shrink by 70% over the next decade — the summer retreat is the closest thing they’ve had to a vacation, Pearl said.

The aging population also has trouble with daily activities like dressing, washing and cooking, and many can’t leave home without assistance, the nonprofit said. As such, the cohort faces a growing epidemic of loneliness.

“We feel like we belong here,” said 78-year-old Brooklynite Edith Sporn, who returned to the retreat with her husband, a Holocaust survivor, for the third time. “We’re part of that generation.”

Aside from the retreat, The Blue Card provides ongoing financial aid to survivors with a median $300 monthly stipend, as well as one-time emergency cash help for medical care, dental visits, housing and groceries.

Survivors also get holiday and birthday checks — which is sometimes the only birthday wish they receive, Pearl said. Other survivors have been gifted PTSD aids from the charity, including animatronic pets and mood-boosting lights.

Since 1934, the nonprofit has doled out $25 million to more than 1,900 New York City households, Pearl said.

One of those recipients is 98-year-old Dolly Rabinowitz, who was born in modern-day Ukraine and survived Auschwitz — outliving her parents and sisters who died there — before arriving in New York in 1949.

“I’m a good American citizen, I paid my taxes, but Social Security [check] is so little,” the Brooklyn resident said. “The Blue Card has helped me [with] food, sometimes I can buy shoes … but my rent is higher than my social security.”

Rabinowitz called the retreat “such a tremendous help” to be able to get out of her apartment and spend her days in a tranquil respite.

“To enjoy the fresh air, the trees: it’s very, very nice.”

Borough Park-based nonprofit Nachas Health helps find survivors like Rabinowitz “on the ground,” Pearl said, and helps to gauge financial need for grants. The 48th Street sanctuary also hosts daily trauma-informed support groups, doles out hot meals and provides transportation to local survivors in need.

“We’re giving them a social life,” said Nachas organizer Ruchy Wosner, 25.

“It’s a family,” said survivor Freida Breier, 84, of Borough Park, who also attended the retreat. “It’s solace, to go [to Nacha] and meet people and socialize and eat even. You feel very welcome there.

“She gives us hope,” she said, pointing at Wosner, “and keeps us going.”