Holocaust survivor from Ocean County attends White House menorah lighting

81-year-old Manny Lindenbaum of Jackson and his granddaughter Lauren joined President Obama at a reception at the White House Wednesday night to light the candles. 

Lindenbaum's parents and sister perished at Auschwitz. The German native was deported to Poland and escaped to England with his brother through the successful Kindertransport efforts that rescued Jewish children from the Nazis and brought them to the United Kingdom. Lindenbaum eventually landed in New Jersey where he was reunited with his aunt and uncle, according to a news release from the White House.

"Manny never forgot that the miracle of his life was only made possible because righteous people reached out their hand to a stranger.  He’s determined to be one of those people for a new generation of refugees," said Obama.

Obama spoke of how Lindenbaum bicycled 200 mile through Europe with his children and grandchildren last year to retrace his journey to freedom in reverse to honor family members he lost in the Holocaust and to raise money for refugee children from Darfur, according to the news release.

"Imagine the world we could build together if all of us took our cues from Manny and truly lived up to the ideal that we are all God’s children, that none of us should turn our backs on a stranger," Obama said. "That’s our challenge during this Hanukkah season.  Whether it’s standing up for the dignity of refugees, standing up against anti-Semitism -- or any kind of bigotry or discrimination levelled at any religion -- or standing with our ally the State of Israel, we can raise our voices, each of us, for the security and dignity of every human being.  Because we are at our best when we believe that our light has the power to shine through the darkness; that -- the story of the Jewish people, the story of America.  It’s the story of the menorah Manny and Lauren will light this evening."