Recently joining HERC’s Speakers Bureau, Andy Palec shares the story and experiences of his father, Samuel, who survived the Holocaust. Samuel was born in Lithuania in 1921, and at 20 years of age, the Germans invaded his small town of Janova and targeted the Jews for death. It happened with astonishing speed, and he was quickly separated from his family. He would spend nearly four years in the grip of terror. He miraculously survived and was liberated by the US Army from the Dachau Concentration Camp and eventually emigrated to the United States, where he started life anew.
Andy was born in Milwaukee and, along with his brother Steve, were raised by two first generation immigrant parents to appreciate the small things in life and the blessings of freedom. Andy is married and has two grown children and works in commercial real estate development. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. He is involved in several local and national Jewish philanthropic programs, and is a founding member of the Chabad Jewish Center of Waukesha.