Rabbi Philip Lazowski

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The remarkable journey of Rabbi Philip Lazowski from Holocaust survivor to spiritual leader has inspired countless congregants, families and communities for decades. Born in Poland in 1930, Lazowski was 11 in 1941 when the Nazis invaded his hometown, destroying his family’s home and possessions. For four years he survived in desperation, being saved by a stranger who claimed him as her son, narrowly escaping execution by being tossed by his mother from a second story window and living in the woods for two years. In 1947 Lazowski made his way to America to pursue a life dedicated to faith and to ensuring the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten. He attended Brooklyn College and Yeshiva University Rabbinical School and relocated to Hartford, where he married the daughter of the stranger who had saved him from certain death years earlier. Author of more than a dozen books, including his autobiography Faith and Destiny, Lazowski was Rabbi at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Hartford; is Rabbi Emeritus of Beth Hillel Synagogue in Bloomfield and Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford; was chaplain of the Hartford Police for 55 years; and remains Chaplain of the Connecticut State Senate.

New Nonprofit Operates Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame

The Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame was initially a project of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization, which launched and operated the Hall of Fame from inception.  It was succeeded by the establishment during 2021 of the National Immigrant Heritage Center (NIHC), an independent 501(c)3 organization established as a multi-ethnic Center, inclusive in its mission, structure and governance. 

NIHC aims to promote and publish research, lectures and conferences on the many dimensions of Connecticut’s immigrant heritage and the role of immigration throughout the American economy and culture.  Its work, and the annual Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame induction ceremony, is to be supported by an endowment that organizers anticipate will sponsor, support and provide research fellowships, to further these activities and expand public awareness and understanding.

Email us at info@immigrantheritage.org or call 860-614-3488.