{"id":74732,"date":"2023-05-23T09:22:21","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T14:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=74732"},"modified":"2023-05-23T09:22:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T14:22:40","slug":"on-her-100th-birthday-this-holocaust-survivor-threw-out-the-first-pitch-at-a-yankees-rays-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/on-her-100th-birthday-this-holocaust-survivor-threw-out-the-first-pitch-at-a-yankees-rays-game\/","title":{"rendered":"On her 100th birthday, this Holocaust survivor threw out the first pitch at a Yankees-Rays game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By MAX BAKER<\/p>\n<p>(<em>Jewish Press of Tampa Bay<\/em> via JTA) \u2014 She may not have the same velocity on her fastball as an MLB pitcher, but Helen Kahan still had plenty to be proud of as she threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees took the field on May 5 \u2014 her 100th birthday.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_74733\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-74733\" class=\"wp-image-74733 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-300x194.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-1024x661.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-768x496.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-1536x992.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke.png 1862w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/194;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-74733\" class=\"wp-image-74733 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-300x194.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-1024x661.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-768x496.png 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke-1536x992.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Helen_Blanke.png 1862w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-74733\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Helen Kahan, center, with her daughter Livia Wein and son Lucian Kahan. (Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kahan stood confidently on the Tropicana Field pitcher\u2019s mound with her daughter and son by her side. It didn\u2019t matter that the throw only made it halfway to home plate. The crowd of more than 25,000 gave her a standing ovation as Rays relief pitcher Kevin Kelly, who caught the pitch, congratulated her with a smile and a handshake.<\/p>\n<p>Kahan, of Seminole, Florida, who survived multiple Nazi concentration camps, was triumphant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never could have imagined celebrating a birthday like this, let alone my 100th!\u201d said Kahan. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful that I am here to tell my story and help the world remember why kindness and empathy are so important for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Born in 1923 in Romania, Kahan was forced into a ghetto as a young adult before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, then Bergen-Belsen and Lippstadt. As the end of the war approached, she escaped from a death march before the camp was liberated by the Soviet army in May 1945. In 1967, Kahan fulfilled a lifelong dream when she and her family immigrated to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Bally Sports Sun, the Rays broadcaster, featured an in-game segment on her inspiring story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey heard how I lived\u2026 that I have a number from Auschwitz,\u201d Kahan told the Jewish Press, pointing to the Nazi tattoo on her arm that reads 7504.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Helen Kahan turned 1\ufe0f\u20e30\ufe0f\u20e30\ufe0f\u20e3 years young today! \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n<p>Born in Romania, Helen survived Nazi control during the Holocaust until being liberated by the Red Army. She moved to the US in 1967 with her husband and kids and now calls St. Pete home \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, she threw the first pitch \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pBAXrgBCiG\">pic.twitter.com\/pBAXrgBCiG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BallyRays\/status\/1654646054879481859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Many of Kahan\u2019s family members \u2014 two children, five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren \u2014 were at Tropicana Field to witness the big moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very nice,\u201d Kahan said. \u201cEverybody celebrated; everybody made it bigger than me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the experience was special because she never got to play sports when growing up, explaining, \u201cI always had to make a penny in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To prepare, Kahan watched her grandsons and great-grandsons play catch so she could get the pitching motion in her head.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, Kahan received lots of media attention, including segments on the local news and social media posts from global outlets, including ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>Kahan said she relished the experience and was grateful for the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love it\u2026 I came from a Hitler camp that did not give me anything but numbers,\u201d Kahan said, pointing at her tattooed arm once again.<\/p>\n<p>Kahan\u2019s daughter, Livia Wein, said that watching her mother throw out the pitch was one of the best things she has ever experienced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was probably the coolest thing for our entire family,\u201d Wein said. \u201cHaving a lot of our friends in the stands also made it very special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kahan and Wein are both avid Rays fans; however, Kahan prefers to keep her favorite player a secret. She said it was a pleasure to meet several of the players and coaches before the game.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to honoring Kahan, the Rays announced a $10,000 partnership grant with the Florida Holocaust Museum during the pregame festivities. Kahan has been a longtime volunteer educator at the St. Petersburg museum.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it was Kahan\u2019s charisma and courageous spirit or simply great defense and timely hitting, the Rays defeated their rival Yankees by a final score of 5-4.<\/p>\n<p><em>A version of this story originally appeared in the Jewish Press of Tampa Bay. It is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"On%20her%20100th%20birthday%2C%20this%20Holocaust%20survivor%20threw%20out%20the%20first%20pitch%20at%20a%20Yankees-Rays%20game\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1491,1],"tags":[13128,8790,8795,8788,13129],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74734,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74732\/revisions\/74734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}