Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

South Jersey Business Project

Student George Quinn, who received a Stockton University Board of Trustee Fellowship for Distinguished Students in Spring Semester 2022, created these profiles of Holocaust Survivor owned businesses in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland Counties. Under the direction of Dr. Michael Hayse, Associate Professor of Historical Studies, and supported by other Stockton students, these stories of resilience will become a permanent part of the larger South Jersey Holocaust Survivors Project at the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center.

These resilient individuals and their families arrived in the United States as refugees from Nazi controlled Europe. Some were pre war refugees from the Third Reich, others endured Nazi ghettos and camps, and still others had emerged from hiding or from the woods where they fought as partisans. Most arrived on these shores having lost everything, and yet they persevered. Those who settled in southern New Jersey often started as chicken farmers, which was a hard life, but one that promised an independent existence. However, it became harder to make a living with a family poultry farm, as egg prices fell, and the cost of feed rose from the mid-1950s onward. Almost all these farms closed by the late 1960s. Some Holocaust Survivors moved on. Others adapted, pouring their savings, their energy, and their ingenuity into new businesses.

Objectives

Holocaust survivors made a great impact on the communities they settled in after the war. Whether it was establishing synagogues, community groups or starting small businesses, they became active participants in American society to make a life for themselves after facing atrocities. By doing this activity, students will be able to:

  1. Identify the elements of Jewish oppression as it relates to wealth, property and businesses. 
  2. Research elements of advertisements, podcasts, social media posts, or webpages and design one around their assigned business. 
  3. Articulate their understanding of the small business assigned to them in one of the project options and present their designs to the class. 

  1. There are 26 business profiles which means a standard class size would allow for each student to be assigned a different business for their project. 
  2. There are several project options for students to choose from: advertisement, social media post, webpage, or podcast. The decision can be left up to the students or assigned for them. 
  3. It would help the students understand the importance of survivor owned businesses if they were given the background on the boycott of Jewish businesses during the war and the elements of Jewish oppression. Understanding that these survivors came to New Jersey often with nothing in their pockets as it was all stolen by the Nazis will help the students appreciate the South Jersey businesses even more. 
  4. Encourage the students to share their projects to the class. This will introduce a variety of different businesses to the students and allow for open discussion or questions about the businesses.