By Carl Zebrowski
Editor
Larry Levitt tells me he was “just an add-on.” If you know Larry, you know he’s humble and gracious and that calling himself an add-on is just the sort of thing he would do.
You’d also suspect there’s more to the story. In fact, his name on the new education center at the Jewish Day School will be right where it should be—alongside that of his wife, Eva Levitt z”l. On September 12, a ribbon will be cut to open the new Eva and Larry Levitt Jewish Learning and Cultural Center.
Eva and Larry both spent their adult lives volunteering and otherwise doing good in the Lehigh Valley community. “Eva never stopped helping others and empowering others to go out and help as she did,” said JDS librarian Sean Boyle, who helped envision the project. “The center will be a testament to her impact on the community.”
Eva’s Holocaust survival story and the 2024 book that tells it, “Evitchka: A True Story of Survival, Hope, and Love,” will be the focus of the center’s educational efforts. The mission is to teach younger generations through experiential learning while promoting Jewish values like tikkun olam (repairing the world), Holocaust remembrance, and support for Israel.
“Evitchka,” written by Larry and former Jewish Federation marketing director Stephanie Smartschan, tells Eva’s life story from the Nazi era through recent years. Eva was one of only six out of 200 children in her town in Czechoslovakia who survived the Holocaust. She and her mother and aunt were saved by a Christian family who risked their own lives to hide them in their home.
The family’s acceptance of the threat to their well-being and the personal sacrifices they made instilled in Eva a deep commitment to following their example. “She felt it was her mission to tell the world about the miracle that her life represented and to convince other people about spending their lives helping others,” said Larry.
Eva and Larry devoted significant time and energy to helping others, a fact witnessed by the Lehigh Valley Jewish community ever since their arrival in the 1970s. They filled various volunteer roles over the decades. To name just two: Eva served as president of the Jewish Federation from 2017 to 2019, and Larry, a neurologist, cofounded the Federation’s Maimonides Society of healthcare professionals 39 years ago.
The learning center will put new technology to the task of its Holocaust education mission, with interactive exhibits, QR codes, and touchscreens. Indeed, there will even be an area devoted to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics), featuring a 3D printer/scanner, a robotics program, and tablets.
Holocaust artifacts will be on display, including a yellow star from Eva’s family, false papers to aid in hiding from the Nazis, and black-and-white photos. Via a recording, Eva’s granddaughter will deliver the speech Eva gave many times during her frequent visits around the Lehigh Valley educating students and others about the Holocaust. As Larry put it, “Many people know a lot more about the Holocaust because of Eva Levitt.”
The Holocaust Resource Center, formerly in the JCC, has been moved to be part of the Levitt Center. Shari Spark will continue in her role as HRC coordinator, maintaining its collection and organizing its educational programs.
Plans for the future of the Levitt Center are to extend its multifaceted offerings and reach even further. Eventually, for example, authors, Holocaust educators, and antisemitism experts will be brought in to make presentations.
“For decades, the Levitts have been an integral part of the JDS,” said Joanna Powers, JDS head of school. “Eva and Larry have a very special place in our hearts and it has been an honor to see them, their children, and their grandchildren deepen their relationship with our school.
“The learning center takes Eva’s passion and Larry’s commitment to new heights. We are honored to house an experiential environment that will educate younger generations about their ancestry and stories of the Holocaust. More seasoned generations will connect to their own history and their parents’ journeys. And all involved will learn elements of the Jewish legacy they are keeping alive.”
Larry has established an endowment fund to help keep the center operating into the future. Community members who would like to join in supporting this vital educational resource should contact Aaron Gorodzinsky at [email protected] or 610-821-5500.