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A JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
Local Jews Search for
Music from Holocaust
s Sam Gubins of Havertown
explained it, under the most
grotesque, horrible condi-
tions imaginable during the Holocaust,
the human spirit found a way to create
beauty. Th at beauty was in the thousands
of pieces of music craft ed and performed
by Jews as they fought to survive.

Now Holocaust Music Lost & Found,
a nonprofi t created by Manhattan res-
ident Janie Press, is on a mission to
recover that music for posterity. And two
local Jews, Gubins and Barry Abelson of
Rittenhouse Square, not only believe in
the mission but are part of it.

Gubins, the former president of a
scientifi c publishing organization, is
HMLF’s treasurer. Abelson, a corporate
lawyer, serves as a board member.

Both men are practicing Jews. Gubins
belongs to Congregation Beth Am Israel
in Penn Valley. Abelson is a member at
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Center
City. Th e men joined HMLF because they
agree with Press when she says “having
this music survive is essential.” Th ey feel
it’s important to educate younger genera-
tions that are increasingly removed from
the Holocaust. But they also believe that
there’s a profound and transcendent les-
son about humanity in this music.

“People chose to live even while they
were dying, and there was death all
around them,” he said.

Press, “a fashion industry veteran”
according to a press release about HMLF,
launched the organization in April to
align with Yom HaShoah. But the idea
came to her in 2019 aft er she watched a
“60 Minutes” piece on Maestro Francesco
Lotoro, an Italian pianist and composer
whose own organization, Fondazione
ILMC, does the same thing. HMLF
is “supporting the work of Maestro
Francesco Lotoro,” per the release about
its launch. Lotoro “travels around the
world and meets with Holocaust sur-
vivors identifi ed through research,
outreach, educational programs and per-
formances,” the announcement added.

Gubins and Abelson got involved
because they knew Press. Th e treasurer
and the president have a mutual friend
Holocaust, Zandman lived with several
other people in the basement of a Polish
family’s house. Aft er he was liberated, he
went to Paris and got his Ph.D. Abelson
developed a relationship with Zandman
over the years. Th e lawyer called the
founder’s story one of “survival, perse-
verance and ultimately triumph.”
“Th at personal connection was another
motivating factor for me to get involved,”
Abelson said.

Sam Gubins
With HMLF, Gubins and Abelson will
focus on what they are good at. Gubins
now runs a nonprofi t, the Annual Review
Investment Corp., that “manages invest-
ments,” according to HMLF’s website,
so he’s serving as treasurer. Abelson will
provide legal and governance oversight.

“Everybody pitches in based on their
availability and skill set,” Abelson said. JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Courtesy of Sam Gubins
| Investments | Asset Management |
| Capital Markets |
Barry Abelson
Photo by Vince Massa
who thought Gubins would be interested.

Abelson and Press are second cousins
who recently reconnected aft er more
than 50 years.

Both men also got close with a
Holocaust survivor. For Gubins, it was
his Uncle Boris, who spent two years
at Buchenwald. He was 80 pounds and
lying on a pallet when American GIs
liberated his camp. Uncle Boris settled
in Bordeaux in France aft er the war, but
Gubins met him in 1958 and learned his
story. Gubins’ father immigrated to the
United States in the 1920s but his twin
brother, Boris, did not follow along. He
thought he was safe. Gubins’ family vis-
ited Boris frequently aft er the war, and
the uncle came to the United States on
one occasion.

When asked his main reason for join-
ing HMLF, Gubins said, “To honor my
Uncle Boris.”
For Abelson, that survivor was
Felix Zandman, the founder of Vishay
Intertechnology, the multibillion-dollar
American company that makes semicon-
ductors and electronic parts. During the
Financial advice from a
knowledgeable neighbor.

E. Matthew Steinberg
Managing Director – Investments
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

165 Township Line Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046
(215) 576-3015
matthew.steinberg@opco.com Serving Investors in
Philadelphia and
South Jersey for 28 Years
Forbes is not affiliated with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

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