In the News - News Release

Surviving the Holocaust:
Dr. Abraham Ingber's Inspirational Family History

Triumph Over Tragedy

The Holocaust and its aftermath are universally associated with death and despair; the worst kind of atrocities mankind can commit. But seldom, inspiring stories of hope and perseverance emerge-even from the Nazis' devastation. Such is the case of Dr. Abraham Ingber and his family, whose extraordinary journey to success in America actually took root amid the horrors of the death camps. Incredibly, from those unlikeliest of places, comes a story of love, birth and rebirth.

In 1942, as the Nazis moved through Europe during World War II, Saul Ingber, his parents and six siblings were among the thousands of Jews forced from their home in Romania and taken to concentration camps-first Mauthausen in Austria and later, Dachau near Munich, Germany. Death became a constant-by execution, torture, starvation or sickness. But Saul possessed a skill that may have kept him alive. He was an accomplished tailor, and the Nazis needed him to design and make uniforms.

When the war ended in 1945 and the camps liberated, most survivors had no place to go. Their homes, like their families, had been destroyed. Saul ended up with thousands of refugees at what was called a Displaced Persons (DP) Camp, in Pocking, Germany. So did a young Czechoslovakian woman named Miriam Farkash, who had somehow survived Auschwitz, the most notorious of the German death camps.

Although it seemed an unusual place and time for matchmaking, a rabbi in the DP camp arranged for Saul and Miriam to meet. A shidech they call it in Yiddish, a betrothal. In April 1947, two years into their stay at Pocking and less than a week after their introduction, they were married. Despite the difficult circumstances, or perhaps because of them, Saul and Miriam found strength in each other as they tried to come to grips with the past and build a future.

Life in the DP camp was bleak. Saul eventually learned that only two of his siblings survived the war. Miriam's loss was just as devastating. Sent to the concentration camps with her parents and ten siblings, she discovered that only her father and one brother were alive. Everyone else they knew and loved was gone. In addition, there seemed no way out of the DP camp. British law blocked immigration to what was then Palestine, and few countries welcomed Jews displaced by the war. But eventually joy arrived. In April 1948, still living in the DP camp, Saul and Miriam welcomed their first child, a son named Abraham. It was almost unimaginable. From a relationship that sprang from the depths of the Holocaust came new life, a new beginning.

Just after Abraham's birth, the state of Israel was established, finally giving Jewish refugees, including the young Ingber family, a place to settle. But it didn't come easily. Israel's neighbors immediately declared war. Saul, still gaunt and drawn from his years in Dachau and the DP camp, joined thousands of his new countrymen in the fight to defend the infant state. As a young boy, Abraham remembers being transported from settlement to settlement in "people movers," trucks filled with Jewish immigrants looking for respite from the frequent military conflicts. For the Ingbers, war had become the sole consistency in their lives.

In the mid-1950s, Israel was embroiled in another military crisis, this time with Egypt. Exhausted by what seemed like constant fighting, Miriam with tremendous backbone and insight decided enough was enough. With the arrival of a second child, a daughter named Haia, Miriam knew she didn't want to raise her children in a war zone. She reached out to her father, who had immigrated to the United States in 1954. Using every favor and resource they could muster, she and Abraham made the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to America in 1957. Because of immigration quotas, it was nine months before Saul and their daughter Haia would be able to join them.

The family settled in the Kennedy street corridor neighborhood of Washington D.C., an area notable for its Jewish community and synagogues. It was yet another difficult adjustment to a new country. For years, the Ingbers lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment above a liquor store. Neither Saul nor Miriam spoke English, and with their youth lost in concentration camps, their education was limited. New to the language, young Abraham found himself in third grade at Hebrew Academy trying to keep up with his Jewish-American classmates. But he quickly became enamored with the perks of life in America. The movie houses, shopping centers and the freedom of living in a world not torn apart by fighting became the hallmarks of his new life. Encouraged by his parents to work hard in school, Abraham began soaking up the English language, coming home to share his new knowledge with his family. Saul and Miriam would speak to their son in Yiddish and Hebrew and he would answer them in English. In this way, the Ingbers began to adapt to their new land. In 1959 their status as Americans was further cemented with the birth of their third child, a son named Morty.

By 1960, Saul had saved enough money from tailoring to open his own storefront business in the neighborhood. Saul's Tailoring Shop quickly earned an excellent reputation and a devoted clientele. As Abraham's English improved, he took more of a role working with his parents in the

shop, even helping out with the tailoring. Under his father's watchful eye, he would work the blind stitch machine hemming men's trousers and women's clothing. But if the seams weren't precise, Saul would rip them out and make him start over, until it was perfect. Saul's work ethic and will to succeed were ingrained in Abraham for life.

In 1968, Abraham became the first member of his family to enter college, at the University of Maryland. He initially studied engineering and computers but it didn't take long for him to realize his future would lie elsewhere. Always outgoing and personable, Abe knew he needed a career that would give him a chance to interact with people and make a difference. He would soon find his calling in dentistry.

A customer of Saul's who owned a dental practice introduced him to the field. Unknown to Abe, Saul had secretly asked the man to show his son around the office-in hopes of inspiring a passion. It did. Abe was enamored with the one-on-one work with the patients and the positive impact it had on their lives. Even better, the job required the kind of innate manual dexterity that Abe had inherited from his father. In no time, he switched his major to pre-dental . With no connections and the Viet Nam draft facing him, acceptance into dental school was a major achievement for him and his family. After college graduation, there was dental school, where Abe graduated in the top of his class. Much to his mother's delight, he was now Dr. Abraham Ingber. While he could have immediately gone into practice, Abe went beyond, entering Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry for an advanced degree in prosthodontics and restorative dentistry.

Upon graduation, Abe turned down two promising job offers, instead deciding to strike out on his own back home near DC. Now married with a young son, he set up a small, specialized practice in Springfield, Virginia. His wife Beth simultaneously managed the office while rocking their child in a baby carriage. In little time, word spread of Abraham's meticulous work. There were calls from patients in nearby Bethesda, Maryland clamoring for his skills. So in 1979, Abraham rented a space in Bethesda and began splitting his days between his two offices. For a decade he raced back and forth up I-495, spending mornings in Springfield and afternoons seeing patients in Bethesda.

Over time, Abe's reputation spread beyond the nation's capital, in large part from his work in the development, design and approval of advanced prosthetic devices and appliances. In 1981, he was among a select group of professionals from around the world invited to Sweden to see the unveiling of the modern dental implant. Since then, he has traveled the world, lecturing and teaching advanced methods on restorative, esthetics and implant dentistry, all the while leading the way in state-of-the-art dentistry. He sits on the advisory board of Nobelbiocare, a leading producer of implant and restorative components and devices, and is a Past President of the Academy of Osseointegration, the world's leading dental implant organization and publisher of a prestigious journal. He is considered by his peers to be among the foremost practitioners of restorative dentistry in the world.

By 1990, tired of the grueling daily schedule of maintaining two very successful practices, Abraham decided to start one practice closer to his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.

He started by renting space from Dr. Vincent Prestipino. The partnership took, and today the two hold six US Patents for advances and devices they developed. Joined by other partners at what is now The Washington Center for Image Dentistry, Dr. Ingber is considered by peers and patients alike as one of the leading prosthodontists in the country. Morty, Abe's brother, is a dental technician who owns a dental lab right on the premises and works side-by-side with his brother. It's a Jewish mother's dream to have her children close and work together .

The personal accomplishments are even more rewarding. Abe and Beth are parents to three successful adult children. Their sons Josh and Ari work together in the music industry, playing in the popular rock band The Upwelling. Their daughter Ilana recently graduated magna cum laude from University of Maryland, majoring in anthropology with a minor in art. Happily, Saul and Miriam remain in good health, and live in Silver Spring, Maryland, not far from their son. They've been together more than 60 years. Their joy they have in their growing family and pride, the nachas as it's called in Yiddish that they derive from their children and grandchildren offsets their personal loss. When reflecting on his family's incredible personal history, Dr. Ingber puts it simply. "Contrast is the essence of vision," he says. "Only by looking at where you've been can you truly appreciate the distance you've traveled."

That distance was put into context a decade ago while Abe was on a speaking tour in Europe. As is their tradition, Saul joined his son on the trip. When they arrived in Germany, the two knew the time had finally come to visit Dachau together. The camp exists today as a memorial site and museum. It was vital for both men. For Saul, it meant a chance to show his son the place responsible for a lifetime of stories of torture and atrocities. For Abe, it was proof that something so unimaginable was indeed real. The return took its toll on Saul, the brutal memories returned so quickly that he collapsed. But he quickly recovered, and actually gained strength from the visit. Even though there are only mass graves, no individual markers for the deceased, he found a place to say Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Then he spoke aloud. "You tried to kill my family, but look what I produced," he proclaimed to the murderous ghosts of the past. "As hard as you tried, you couldn't wipe us out. This is a testimonial, to our spirituality, to our conviction, to our family and to our people" For Saul to stand at this site with his accomplished son, and his growing family in mind, there was finally a sense of closure.