One of the last Holocaust survivors living in Maine attended Maine State Music Theatre’s rendition of “Fiddler on the Roof” last week. Edith Lucas Pagelson, who turns 90 in September, is of Jewish descent and has seen the production multiple times since she moved to New York City after World War II. Though “Fiddler” chronicles the story of an oppressed Jewish family in 1905 Russia, the themes align closely with the Holocaust.
“I was very moved by the show,” said Pagelson after the play ended. “It brought things back personally. Especially this month, the anniversary of when I was transported to prison camp.”
Pagelson, along with her mother and father, were taken prisoner by the Nazis in July of 1942 and held in concentration camps for over three years before Germany was liberated. She was first brought to Theresienstadt, where her father died, and then bounced around with her mother between Birkenau, Auschwitz and Stuthoff.
“I was mostly digging ditches and tank traps,” said Pagelson, who had many brushes with death, including when she was standing in a gas chamber that malfunctioned.
When the war was over she moved to America, though the move presented her with new problems.
“I had to get a visa,” Pagelson said. “It’s not like I could just get in.”
She met and married her husband — who was also a Holocaust survivor — and started a family in New York City, but he was killed in a skiing accident in 1973. Pagelson’s woes continued when her family business was destroyed by looters during the blackout of 1977. After moving to California and enduring the loss of her second husband, Pagelson moved to Falmouth eight years ago to be with her daughters.
Though faced with many hardships, Pagelson has kept her head up, and she said the many screenings of “Fiddler” over the years have helped her confront her past.
“I saw my first performance (of ‘Fiddler’) in the ’60s,” said Pagelson. “It’s just as gripping today. It relates a lot to my experiences, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad she was able to come and see this,” said Pagelson’s daughter, Ruth Finegold.
Pagelson and Finegold got to meet the cast and crew after the show.
“I remember seeing it with her back in the ’60s in New York,” Finegold said. “It means a lot to be with her here today.”
“A few years ago my children said ‘you have to write a book to get it all on paper,’” said Pagelson, who recently released her autobiography, “Against All Odds.” “It started out as notes for just the family, but then it took off.”
Pagelson speaks about the Holocaust to middle school and high school classes across Southern Maine, her most recent being Yarmouth High School this past spring. She has been doing so for 20 years.
“AGAINST ALL ODDS,” can be purchased in local bookstores or online at amazon.com.
bgoodridge@timesrecord.com
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