Dr. David Gottlieb to discuss 'Almost a Mensch-The Birth of a Nation' at LSC-Montgomery

HOUSTON, Texas — Dr. David Gottlieb, a retired dean from the University of Houston and a successful local businessman, will share his travels as a Jewish boy from inner city Detroit to the evacuation of Holocaust survivors following World War II.

This great lecture, “Almost a Mensch-The Birth of a Nation” will be held noon – 1 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall (Building D) at Lone Star College-Montgomery Monday, Feb. 8.

“On July 6, 1946 the SS Josiah Wedgwood was thirty miles from the Port of Haifa. I was an eighteen-year-old crewman on that vessel, which was carrying 1,257 Holocaust survivors from camps in Italy to Palestine. Passengers and crew alike were on high alert, watching for two things: British vessels and Haifa. The British had set up a blockade of Haifa and ships caught running it were forced to return their Holocaust survivors to the same countries that had refused them entry.

Our Haifa gambit ended happily. We made it into port and our ecstatic passengers disembarked to singing and cheers of Eretz! Israel! How I came to be caught up in one of the great events of the twentieth century is an improbable tale. I was not an experienced sailor, had no technical qualifications, and a lackluster past. Most of the blockade runners were Jewish veterans of World War II.

Life has a way of sending me down roads I never dreamed of taking, some the last ones I would have chosen. Maybe Bashert explains it. It means destiny or what must be. Maybe it helped that I was open to life, for life has been open to me. It has sent me mostly the good, sometimes the bad and occasionally the ugly.”

This presentation, sponsored by the LSC-Montgomery Government Department is free and open to the community. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information email Dr. Dominic Beggan or call 936.271.6219.

LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273-7000, or visit LoneStar.edu/Montgomery.

Known for its leadership, innovation and steadfast commitment to student success, Lone Star College provides high-quality academic transfer and workforce education/career training programs to more than 83,000 credit students each semester, and a total enrollment of 95,000 students. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to promote student success and economic prosperity. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., is the chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, which consists of six colleges, eight centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.