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More than 50 years ago, an impressive crystal chandelier was delivered in a nondescript box to the North Carolina Executive Mansion. The chandelier was a gift from Karoline Horowitz, who settled in Murphy in the 1940s with her husband, Peter, and 6-year old son, Bob, after a daring escape from Europe and the Nazis.
On Dec. 12, 2023, Bob Horowitz joined Gov. Roy Cooper, first lady Kristin Cooper and Department of Natural & Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson for a special event at the Executive Mansion to share stories of his family’s history and “the incredible journey of this chandelier,” which has become a part of North Carolina history. Cooper said officials recently discovered letters from Ms. Horowitz that “unlocked a whole new world of infor-mation.”
“We thought, maybe the state would be interested,” Bob Horowitz said of his family’s gift, according to a release from the state. “North Carolina has treated us well. We came as refugees and became part of the community.”
The chandelier – which was made in the 1880s in Austria and may have been one of the first electrified chandeliers in the world, created in collaboration with Thomas Edison – still hangs in the state dining room. It was owned by Mrs. Horowitz’ parents, Gustav and Selma Strauss, two of the 6 million Jews who perished during the Holocaust.
After the war, Mrs. Horowitz was miraculously able to recover some of her family’s heirlooms, including the crystal chandelier, and have them sent to her new home in western North Carolina.
The chandelier was later donated to the state and was installed in the mansion in the 1960s. WRAL described it as being “like a wedding cake made of light – tiers of glittering gold and white crystal, orbs and teardrops and bunches of grapes.”
“Because the mansion is a living history site, the Strauss chandelier and the lessons of their story will be shared with the thousands of people and hundreds of school groups who tour every year,” Cooper said. “Especially right now, amid rising anti-Semitism and a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, telling and bearing witness to these stories is absolutely essential to ensure that we never, ever forget.”
In a video from 1988, Mrs. Horowitz explained how she, her husband and 4-year-old son fled the Nazis, leaving almost all their possessions behind. Bob Horowitz is 86 today, but he still remembers their daring nighttime escape, aided by members of the French resistance and three French soldiers, who “took turns carrying me on their shoulders” he said, walking hours through the night.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was Jan. 27. Cooper called it “a somber day to pause and mourn.”
“Hatred, bigotry and violence too often begin with a lack of education,” he said in another release.
“We pledge to ‘never again’ allow an atrocity like the Holocaust, but in order to keep that promise, we must ensure the lessons from this dark time are taught and remembered.”
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 828-837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on X @daviddBstroh.