Herman Holtz gets into a rowboat to save Ados Israel’s Torah scrolls from the flood, 1936. Photo courtesy of Leonard Holtz

In a recent NPR podcast about the Connecticut River, Estelle Kafer, director of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford (JHSGH), was interviewed about the early Jewish community that settled on the east side close to the river. The segment highlights clips from an oral history interview with Herman Holtz z”l, a former president of Congregation Ados Israel — and father of Ados Israel’s current president, Leonard Holtz, who is also owner/operator of the Hebrew Funeral Association. In the interview, Herman Holtz recalls saving the Congregation’s Torah scrolls during the 1936 flood. 
To listen to the segment, visit the Radius Project at www.radiusproject.org.

CAP: Herman Holtz during his oral history interview with the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford. Photo courtesy of JHSGH archives.