In Memory of Margot Capell: October 21 2024
Only two days before her 104th birthday, Holocaust survivor Margot Capell passed away peacefully in her home. Our hearts are broken.
Margot Capell was a woman of valor, intelligence and strength. She told her history to hundreds of youth, from 3rd graders to college, and they hung onto her every word. As she shared her life stories with youth in the tri-state area through the Wagner College Holocaust Center, she built a legacy.
Margot grew up not far from Strasbourg, in Ingenheim, Germany, in the Rhineland, a century ago. And then, after she turned 13, Hitler came to power.
Her stories, such as her narrow escape from a synagogue that was then set on fire on Kristallnacht, were unforgettable. But they also had a message. Her message to the next generation was to be vigilant: she would say: “wherever Antisemitism “rears its ugly head, do something.” She explained that it was not taken seriously enough in the 1930s.
Her story has been told in the original play “Rise Up: Young Holocaust Heroes,” at the St. George Theater. Her life was the subject of a NY-Emmy-award winning film shown on PBS to 80,000 people created by the talented filmmaker Shira Stoll of silive.com/Staten Island Advance
Margot celebrated her 99th and 100th birthday with Wagner College students, who also visited her at her home to sing to her over the years. Her husband and WWII veteran Eric Capell's passport, yamelke and military photos and her passport with a Nazi stamp (and the Nazi-required middle name “Sara”) is on display in our permanent exhibit in the Holocaust Education and Action Gallery. Students ponder the lessons of her experiences as well as her fortitude. How did she have the courage at such a young age to move to England, then to the U.S., without her parents, and then live a life haunted by the murder of her parents by the Nazis?
Margot was exceptional in her life and will be remembered for her courage and insight. We will always love you, Margot!
.Margot's 1939 Passport, original on display in our Education and Action Gallery
WCHC Director Professor Lori Weintrob and Margot Capell
