Overview

A unique approach to Holocaust literature, I Will Give Them an Everlasting Name comprises the compelling stories of eight Jews, a Righteous Gentile, and a liberator, all connected by the Holocaust and Jacksonville, Florida. They experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust in Europe in the 1930s and 40s, surviving multiple concentration and death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau, and Bergen-Belsen. One escaped from a Soviet gulag, another hid in a hole in the ground for months, and another was in charge of executing Nazi criminals after WWII in Landsberg prison. The tenth story is about a courageous Gentile who saved many Jewish lives, risking his own. While each has his or her own unique, painful, and compelling story of survival, they all landed in a single city in the United States after the war: Jacksonville, Florida. These stories, however heart-wrenching they might be, demonstrate the triumph of the human spirit and, ultimately, the joys of lives well lived in their new home in the United States.

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The voices of Holocaust survivors, preserved in I will Give Them an Everlasting Name: Jacksonville's Stories of the Holocaust, is a valuable source of both historic preservation and inspiration. Cox's well-crafted narratives make ample use of primary source material, including interviews with, and personal recollections of Holocaust survivors. He provides readers with brief, yet richly detailed stories of men and women who survived the most indescribable horrors in human history who made new lives for themselves in a small southern city far from their ancestral homeland. As a Holocaust educator the value of individual testimonies cannot be overstated. The wealth of primary and secondary documentation covering the Holocaust is vast, however it is the personal stories of men and women who emerged from the Shoah and rebuilt their lives in a land far from home that provides us with a true and terrifying glimpse into the past, juxtaposed against a hopeful view of the future. Local students of the Holocaust will learn how these survivors contributed in inestimable ways to the community they called home for many decades. On a more global level, Cox's work preserves the stories of a small segment of the population of Holocaust survivors who arrived in the United States in the years following World War II and contributes to the catalog of testimony that is integral to understanding and appreciating the scope of the Holocaust and its impact on survivors, their families, and their communities. Patrick Nolan, M.A., Holocaust Educator, Duval County Public Schools; Adjunct Professor of History, University of North Florida The chronicle I Will Give Them An Everlasting Name is a remarkable effort in documenting a history that is now all but forgotten. The preservation of these life histories is itself an incredible and desirable achievement, but there is something special that many will not notice or understand about this compilation of stories. Samuel Cox, as a part of his own fascination with history, was able to create an environment of absolute trust with these incredible people. As a second-generation child of a survivor, I know how difficult it is for many Holocaust survivors to speak about the ugly, desperate circumstances they endured. The fact that Sam was able to enlist so many of these folks to speak to his classes and then to divulge their life experiences in such detail is a feat beyond remarkable. The book is prescient and timely in this age of political turmoil, where antisemitic attacks are at an all-time high and democracy itself hangs in the balance. It is unfortunate that there is not a Samuel Cox in each city across America. There are so many stories untold from this era. Let this chronicle serve as an important reminder of what mankind is capable of both in kindness and horror. Mark Friedemann, Son of Holocaust survivor Richard Friedemann Samuel Cox did as he vowed. He gave everlasting names to some of the most amazing and surely the bravest human beings that God ever created... While accurately captured, the accounts were told with the compassion and depth of understanding that could only be achieved by many painful face-to-face and heart-to-heart conversations with individuals about the most horrific and darkest moments which exists in any period of our world's history. The unimaginable cruelty of Hitler and his Third Reich, along with the unwavering courage and resilience of his victims have begun to dim in today's environment of preoccupation with other pursuits. But people of all ages, education, interests, and lifestyles will be able to read Sam's unforgettable narratives... Susan Clark Armstrong, writer, journalist, and former columnist for the Florida Times Union newspaper

Author Information

Samuel Cox is a retired US Army Reserve officer, an educator for four decades, and a lifelong student of the Holocaust. He taught various history courses for many years, including courses on the Holocaust, and served as a K-12 private school headmaster in Virginia and North Carolina for more than 20 years. He holds a B.A. from Wake Forest University, a B.S. from Oregon State University, an M.S. from the University of South Carolina, and an M.A. from The College of William & Mary, along with additional graduate coursework at several other universities. From 1994 to 1999, he taught a Holocaust class at St. Johns Country Day School in Orange Park, Florida, where he came to know the ten friends he writes about in this book. Sam resides in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Erin, and has three grown children.

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