Fort Meade Observes Holocaust Days of Remembrance

By Bryan SpannMay 23, 2023

Fort Meade Observes Holocaust Days of Remembrance
Garrison Commander, COL Michael Sapp presents guest speaker Rachel Lipman with a token of appreciation (Photo Credit: Bryan Spann) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Air Force 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing (ISRW), the Fort Meade Garrison Equal Opportunity Office and Club Meade hosted the 2023 Holocaust Day of Remembrance ceremony April 18th.

This year's guest speaker was Rachel Loew Lipman. Lipman is the granddaughter of Holocaust and Auschwitz survivor William Loew. On October 29, 1944 Loew was transferred from a Hungarian prison to the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was his 19th birthday. “My grandfather never shared many details about Auschwitz. It was a place of death, torture and pure evil,” Lipman said during her presentation.

On April 17, 1945, Loew was forced on a death march towards another concentration camp, Dachau. When the march reached Bavaria, Germany, they ran into the 99th Division of the U.S. 3rd Army. The prisoners were liberated on April 23. “We celebrate his liberation day, April 23, every year as a family,” said Lipman.

After the war, Loew worked for the U.S. Army as a translator, helping survivors and their families gain passage to the United States. In 1954, Loew emigrated to America himself, became an electrical engineer and started a family. In 1982, he and his wife Lois purchased a 37-acre plot of land in Mount Airy, Maryland and built a vineyard and winery, producing many award-winning wines.

Loew passed away in 2022 at the age of 96. Today, Rachel Loew Lipman represents the fifth generation of mead and winemakers. She is the head winemaker and general manager of her family's winery in Mount Airy. For more of the Loew family story and details of his experiences during World War II, you can watch the entire ceremony on the Fort Meade Public Affairs Office Facebook Live page: https://www.facebook.com/ftmeadelive/