Photo essay
A Ramat Gan cafe brings Holocaust survivors together
Named for a Swedish establishment where survivors searched for loved ones after the war, Cafe Europa’s clientele ‘never talk about the Holocaust’
Holocaust survivors dance during a weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
AP — At an Israeli cafe that caters to Holocaust survivors, patrons gather to socialize, snack and dance to the music of their youth — but not to share the horrors of their past.
Silva Lipka, who founded Café Europa in 2011, calls it an “optimistic place.” She says the aging clientele “never talk about the Holocaust, they just come to be with their friends.”
It’s named after a cafe in Sweden where Jews who survived the Holocaust met after World War II to look for friends and relatives.
Six million Jews were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the war.
Associated Press photographer Oded Balilty visited Café Europa in Ramat Gan, Israel, ahead of Holocaust memorial day on Thursday.
Holocaust survivors have coffee and cakes during a weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Holocaust survivors dance during a weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Holocaust survivors dance during a weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Holocaust survivors dance during a weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Holocaust survivors have coffee and cakes during their weekly social meeting at the Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A Holocaust survivor attends a weekly social meeting at Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Coffee and cakes are served to Holocaust survivors during their weekly meeting at Cafe Europa community and culture center in Ramat Gan, Israel, a day before Israel begins it annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Tuesday, April 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
