US Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) helped to celebrate the 100th birthday of a woman from Queens who miraculously escaped the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe.
Meng visited the Flushing home of Hanna Slome on Sunday, where the Congresswoman honored her with an official congressional proclamation and proclaimed this Friday, April 11 – the actual date of her birthday – as Hanna Slome Day throughout New York’s Sixth Congressional District.
Slome was born on April 11, 1925, in Czechoslovakia. She was one of 669 children rescued by Sir Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransport in 1939, escaping Nazi persecution and beginning a new life in England before immigrating to the United States at the age of 19 aboard a wartime freighter. She was unaware of who was responsible for her escape but learned decades later that it was organized by Winton, a British stockbroker.
After settling in New York City, Slome married and moved to Flushing, raising two children and ultimately welcoming seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Slome was actively involved in local religious institutions, including Temple Gates of Prayer in Flushing, as well as serving on the PTA of Junior High School 185, where she also served a term as its president. In addition, she has spoken to school groups about her experience during and after the Holocaust.
“I am proud to commend and recognize Hanna for a century of courage, service, and inspiration,” said Meng. “Her message of resilience and hope continues to inspire generations and will do so for many years to come. It is an honor and privilege to wish her a very happy 100th birthday, and I send her my warmest congratulations.”
This past January, Meng introduced a bipartisan resolution on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and recommitting to combating all forms of anti-Semitism. She also helped to reintroduce the Holocaust Education and anti-Semitism Lessons (HEAL) Act in January that seeks to increase Holocaust education efforts in public schools.
