Sol Goldstein never forgot what he saw as a young American soldier during World War II, particularly as a liberator of the Buchenwald concentration camp. He spent the rest of his life trying to educate people about the ramifications of hatred, bigotry and genocide.
A former Baltimore Jewish Council president and longtime supporter of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, Goldstein passed away on Mar. 16. The Pikesville resident would have turned 94 the following day.
“He was just a fine, fine gentleman and very dedicated to Holocaust education,” said Jeanette Parmigiani, the BJC’s director of Holocaust programs, who worked closely with Goldstein over the years. “He spoke to students all over this area and in Pennsylvania. He was very committed.”
Goldstein was a longtime participant of the BJC’s Holocaust Remembrance Speakers Bureau. He was also a former president of the Baltimore office of the American Jewish Congress and a co-founder of the Black Jewish Forum of Baltimore, also known as the BLEWS.
“The last time I spoke to him, he said, ‘What else have you got for me?’ That’s how he was – always ready to go,” Parmigiani said. “Sol was low-key, but he spoke powerfully. He really wanted to get his message out to students, all of those stories and experiences. The fact that he can’t recount them anymore is so sad. But what a guy.”
A Baltimore native and son of immigrants from Lithuania and Egypt, Goldstein dropped out of Baltimore City College in 1942 to enlist in the U.S. Army, much to the dismay of his parents. Rising to the rank of master sergeant, he fought in the European Theatre and participated in the D-Day and Battle of the Bulge campaigns.
But it was while assigned to the Big Red One, 1st Infantry Division, that Goldstein experienced a life-changing moment by becoming one of the first liberators of Buchenwald in April of 1945.
In his many talks around the area over the years, Goldstein recalled discovering the camp with seven other soldiers in his unit, not knowing what it was. He said they were overwhelmed by the stench of the camp and perplexed by the approaching emaciated inmates who were crying and begging for help.
Goldstein said he spoke to them in Yiddish, “Yes, we are American soldiers and I am a Jew,” with one survivor asking, “What took you so long to get here?”
Goldstein said he and the other soldiers offered their food rations and water, which tragically resulted in some deaths because of the poor physical condition of the inmates.
For his service during the war, Goldstein was awarded the Purple Heart and a 2-Star Combat Infantry Badge. (In 2013, he was awarded the Legion of Honor Medal, France’s highest honor.)
After returning to the United States seven months after the war’s end, Goldstein said he found transitioning to “normal” life quite difficult. But he vowed to help Jews and others in need for the rest of his life.
“After seeing the horrors of Buchenwald as a soldier, I said if ever a Jew was in trouble, I would do whatever I could to help,” Goldstein said in a video produced by The Associated.
Over the years, besides his decades of involvement with the BJC and The Associated, Goldstein worked on behalf of the freedom of Jews from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. He even traveled to the Soviet Union in 1976 to meet with Jewish refuseniks there.
“I feel great about that,” he said in the video. “We helped open up the doors.”
A few years ago, while speaking to a group of students at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Goldstein explained why he lectured there for more than 35 years, as well as other venues in the region.
“They said [World War II] was the war to end all wars and that there would never be another Holocaust,” he said “But look at Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Africa. … Learn as much as you can. Make this a better country. Try to do the best you can. Watch what is going on around you. Be aware. To me, that’s life.”
An insurance executive and member of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Goldstein met his wife of 60 years, Jean Turk Goldstein, while at the Lyric Theater in downtown Baltimore. On the day after his wife’s death in 2006, Goldstein was scheduled to speak to a group at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, recalled Deborah Cardin, the JMM’s deputy director.
“I didn’t expect him to come, but he did. I was shocked,” said Cardin “He just told me that’s what his wife would’ve wanted. That’s always stuck in my in mind. … He was an amazing person, and he spoke to many groups here about his experiences. He was always ready.”
Over the years, Goldstein gave more than 30 talks annually about his wartime experiences. “I think it’s extremely important that people know and see the people who have been there,” he said at a Veterans Day gathering last November in Bowie. “To hear the story firsthand, I think it’s extremely important young people know this actually did happen. …
“It was like a bad dream,” he said of the war. “Five years I spent over there, and my whole youth. It wasn’t easy, but here I am.”
Goldstein is survived by his three sons, Mark, Robert and Donald Goldstein; his three daughters-in-law, Linda, Vivian and Ariela; his grandchildren, Todd Goldstein, Meredith Marx, Jenna Gold, Shuki Goldstein, and Yoni Goldstein; and his great-grandchildren, Taylor, Sara Naava, Gavi, Yael, Dovid, Casey, Parker, Adina, Ze’ev and Tsofia.
Goldstein’s funeral was held today at 2 p.m. at Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home.
Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Peabody Conservatory, c/o the Jean Turk Goldstein Scholarship Fund, 1 E. Mt Vernon Pl., Baltimore, Md. 21202. Shiva will be held at 4001 Old Court Rd., #319 (Pavilion In The Park), in Pikesville through Monday morning.
Top photo courtesy of Sol Levinson & Bros.
Bottom Photo: Sol Goldstein and local Holocaust survivor Martha Weiman are shown last year at the John Carroll School in Bel Air. Photo provided by Ilene Dackman-Alon of the Jewish Museum of Maryland