Café Europa

Café Europa, a club for Holocaust survivors and victims of Nazi persecution, provides social activities for members and their families. The club offers a safe place for survivors to reminisce, form relationships with other survivors, and “keep the light glowing” for future generations by sharing their stories and spirit. More than 40 members typically gather several times a year to celebrate Jewish holidays and other special occasions. Café Europa is led by chairwoman Rachel Borenstein and by JCC Director of Cultural Arts, Bella Smorgonskaya. The program is funded by the UJA-Federation of New York and the Claims Conference.

​Watch our Café Europa Shavuot celebration below!

​Watch our Cafe Europa Chanukah Celebration here!

We hosted our Café Europa Sukkot Celebration on October 8th!  ​In addition to Sukkot, the program celebrated another very special occasion—the 100th birthday of Holocaust survivor Margot Capell. You can watch parts 1, 2 & 3 of the program here:

---

Recently, Margot Capell was one of the subjects featured in journalist Shira Stoll’s Emmy award-winning “Where Life Leads You” series on Staten Island’s Holocaust survivors for the Staten Island Advance. 

Here’s her story: Margot Capell was born on October 18, 1920. Her hometown of Rulzheim, Germany was 10% Jewish. In 1934, 14-year-old Margot Capell was getting ready to be the valedictorian of her class. On graduation day, her teacher told her that she could not be the valedictorian because the Nazi Regime would not allow a Jew to hold this honor. 

From then on, the integrated friendly town she once knew turned hostile, and the Jews were separated from the rest of the community. Her best friend stopped speaking to her, and the shop where she worked was vandalized. Her home was broken into, and the police ignored her family’s cries for help.

The rise of anti-Semitism was slow and gradual, but nonetheless, Margot’s family knew they had to leave. Her mother sent Margot to England through an organization that helped Jews go there as housekeepers. She spent a year and a half in England before traveling to the United States to live with her uncle. Margot’s brother, Paul Wolf, built a new life in Sweden.

Margot worked hard to save money for her parents' visas, so she could bring them to the United States. However, by the time she had the money ready, her parents were killed in a concentration camp in Poland.

She met Eric Capell at an event for refugees, and it was love at first sight. They got married in 1943 and bought a candy store in Brooklyn with a loan that Eric got from the Army. After 15 years, they sold the shop and moved to their own home in Staten Island. They hosted many wonderful dinners, discussion groups, and engagement parties for their nieces.  Eric eventually bought Romac Foods, where Margot was his bookkeeper. Eric died in 1993, two weeks before their 50th anniversary.

Margot has several nieces and nephews with whom she is very close. As Margot celebrates her 100th birthday, she says, “There’s still anti-Semitism in this country, let’s not kid ourselves. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Photos courtesy of Shira Stoll/SI Advance.