In Memory of Manya Perel

We are sad to share with you that local Holocaust survivor and HAMEC speaker Manya Perel passed away on July 29th, 2020. May her memory be a blessing.

Manya was one of the most dedicated speakers and educators we have had the pleasure to work with and learn from. As a survivor of 8 concentration camps, including Auschwitz, she dedicated her life to educating students about the terrible consequences of unbridled hatred and the lessons of the Holocaust. Of course, family came first for Manya, as a devoted wife, mother, and great grandmother she also set an amazing example of what we should all strive to be. She was loving, tough, smart, and dedicated. We, who loved her, will miss her. The thousands of young lives she touched and changed will be part of her wonderful legacy.

HAMEC Education Director Geoff Quinn says of Manya, “I loved going out with Manya to watch her share her story with students. She was always so proud of every student who she spoke with, and always greeted every teacher and student with excitement and pride for hearing her speak. After every school visit, as we would leave the school full of the lives she touched, she would tell me “mission accomplished!” It was truly a blessing to work with such an amazing person and friend.”

“It was an honor knowing and working with Manya Perel these past 11 years. She was a very special woman, determined to share her legacy of survival with as many people as she could. Some of my fondest memories are dancing with her at the Association of Holocaust Survivor dinners,” said Beth Razin, who works on Holocaust education programs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s JCRC.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions in her memory be made to the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center.
Suite 203/205
8339 Old York Road
Elkins Park, PA 19027
info@hamec.org

Give a Gift in Memory of Manya Perel

Manya, the youngest of ten children, grew up in Poland. During the war, she survived eight concentration camps and lost her parents and five of her siblings. She felt it was her mission to tell her story so that such atrocities should not happen again. She touched the lives of thousands of students by sharing her testimony. She is survived by her children, Marvin (Lois) Perel and Sylvia (Mark) Wagman; grandchildren, Evan (Yael Aschner), Andrew, and Daniel Perel, Rina (Andrew Schwartz) and Jeffrey Wagman; and great granddaughters, Talia and Mira Perel. Burial will take place in a private ceremony at Shalom Memorial Park in Huntingdon Valley, PA.