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November 27, 2018
On Monday afternoon, 9 November 2009, a group of local residents and dignitaries gathered along the road to La Mulata to witness the official opening of the Herman Strauss park with the inauguration of a plaque and the planting of some trees.
At the opening, the Jewish families still living in Sosúa were present.
The Herman Strauss park has been established in honor of Mr Strauss, who has done so much for the town.
Mr. Strauss died on February 20, 2017.
His charitable foundation has always done a lot of good work for the local community and his former dairy/meat plant 'Productos Sosúa' provided jobs for many local people.
The management of the Tractor del Norte company and the SOMONCA foundation considered that Mr Strauss, as an important and socially-responsible resident, should be honored with his own park.
The ecological SOMONCA foundation provided the indigenous plants, bushes and trees.
The park and its monument should then be used by local schoolchildren, to learn about the plants and trees grown in the Dominican Republic.
So that Monday morning November 9, Herman Strauss solemnly put the park into use by revealing a plaque and planting some trees.
Parque Herman Strauss
Parque Herman Strauss
The 9th November, a date chosen because, back in 1938, this became known as Crystal Night, when hundreds of thousands of Jewish families fled from the Hitler and Goebels regime.
This ensured that many Jews fled to other countries, including the 650 who found a safe haven in the DR.
The Strauss family also fled Germany and eventually arrived in Sosúa in 1948, where they lived in the house in La Mulata.
The plaque that is installed in the park was unveiled by Herman Strauss and Bennie Katz, and shows (on one side) a splintered Star of David, to depict the terrible things that happened on Crystal night.
However, the other side contains a message of hope that the Dominican Republic entailed a new future for the Jewish refugees.
However, nothing came of the nice plans to use the park for educational purposes.
Over the years, unbridled vegetation has overgrown the entire park.
But fortunately, since a few weeks, the park has been cleaned up thanks to the Strauss family.
Everything looks neat again and if the new plants get the chance to grow further, it will again be an attractive and respectful monument for Herman Strauss and the Jewish families in Sosúa.
I love Sosúa
Sosúa
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