Jona Goldrich survived the Holocaust with only the clothes on his back, yet went on to co-found one of California’s most successful real estate development and management companies, and become a leading philanthropist. In recognition of his lifetime of achievements, he was posthumously honored at an event held recently at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (LAMOTH), which he founded in 2010.
On hand to accept the honor were Goldrich’s grandson, Derek Cayton, and his daughters, Melinda Goldrich and Andrea Cayton, both of whom are LAMOTH board members.
Melinda Goldrich echoed her father’s words of the importance of teaching the young generation about the Holocaust. Among the 600 guests in attendance were 50 Holocaust survivors whose presence lent a poignancy to the event. One of the most moving moments of the evening was when Derek, 13, spoke about his participation in LAMOTH’s B’nai Mitzvah program. There he learned about a child who died before reaching Bar Mitzvah age.
“Endre Izsak was 11 when he was murdered in the Holocaust,” he said. “I have the honor of standing here with his sister, Edith Frankie, a Holocaust survivor.”
His grandfather was born in Turka (Lvov), Poland to a prominent Jewish family who stressed the importance of education and charitable giving. After settling in the U.S., Goldrich carried on the family legacy by creating the Goldrich Family Foundation, which furthers efforts to cure disease, supports local schools and international universities, promotes social justice, and, most importantly, supports Holocaust remembrance and awareness.
His crowning achievement was creating LAMOTH in Pan Pacific Park so that future generations can learn about the atrocities the Nazis committed with the hope that they are never repeated.
Goldrich’s business success stemmed from his nearly 60-year partnership with Sol Kest who, together, founded a real estate development and management firm in Marina del Rey/Culver City with residential, commercial and other projects. Goldrich Kest built a portfolio that today includes 120 apartment buildings with 13,188 units, 5 marinas with 2,139 slips, 24 senior living facilities with 4,248 beds, and, scattered throughout the U.S., more than 11 million-square-feet of commercial, retail and industrial properties. Among the apartment buildings are 71 properties accommodating low-income families in which Goldrich Kest offer free after-school and summer programs for its young residents engaged and eager to learn. For more information, visit goldrichkest.com.
LAMOTH is the oldest survivor-founded Holocaust museum in the United States. It can trace its origins to 1961 when a group of survivors taking English as a Second Language classes discovered they each had photographs, concentration camp uniforms and other precious primary source objects from the Holocaust era. They decided that these artifacts needed a permanent home where they could be displayed safely and in perpetuity. They also wanted a place to memorialize those who perished and educate the world so that no one would ever forget this dark period of history. For more information, visit lamoth.org.
