March and April Dates for the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) Spring 2021 Memory Keepers Story Hour Featuring GenerationsForward Speakers
These events are offered on a virtual online platform, and feature HHREC Holocaust Survivors, Liberators, and GenerationsForward speakers – a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
The event series started in January with Hannah Deutch, a Holocaust Survivor from the HHREC Speakers Bureau, as she shared intimate details about her extraordinary experience as witness to Kristallnacht, her transport on the Kindertransport, internment on the Isle of Man, and her career as a nurse.
The HHREC, based in White Plains, NY, launched the Memory Keepers Story Hour series in 2020 in support of their mission – to teach the lessons of the Holocaust, to promote the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect, and to encourage speaking up and acting against all forms of hate, bigotry, and prejudice. The HHREC has been inviting guests to attend these events to hear members of their Speakers Bureau share their family’s uniquely powerful Holocaust experiences and present their testimonies to their origins. The HHREC Memory Keepers Speakers Bureau includes 26 Holocaust Survivors, 3 Honorary Holocaust Liberator Speakers, and 36 GenerationsForward Speakers who tell their stories from a “next generation” perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories.
“These stories provide a unique opportunity to hear from a very special group of Survivors and next generation family members into the consequences of human hate, and help people reflect, as they realize that choices matter, that one person can make a difference” said HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper. She added “We are eternally grateful for the contributions from these courageous men and women who share their stories of survival and personal experiences from the Holocaust. Sadly, the number of our Survivors is dwindling, and we are taking great care to recognize what they mean to all of us and preserve their memories and the impact they have had – and will continue to have – for future generations.”
The HHREC Spring 2021 Memory Keepers Story Hour speaker series began featuring GenerationsForward speaker Debby Ziering on March 11.
The remaining schedule this spring:
March 18 – Barbara Lewis Kaplan, GenerationsForward
April 15 – Kathy Grosz-Zaltas, GenerationsForward
April 22 – Wendy Sandler, GenerationsForward
April 29 – Michelle Gewanter, GenerationsForward
All virtual events begin at 7 p.m. To register for these events, email Millie Jasper mjasper@hhrecny.org for Zoom log-in information or call the HHREC at 914.696.0738.
About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center:
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center is a not-for-profit organization based in White Plains New York that serves Westchester, Fairfield and neighboring counties. Their Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. We encourage students to speak up and act against all forms of bigotry and prejudice. Their work with students and teachers helps schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, they have brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights crimes to more than 1750 teachers, and through them to thousands of middle and high school students. Through their volunteer Educators Program Committee, the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center gives teachers the unique opportunity to develop programs for themselves and others. These programs not only enrich teachers’ knowledge about the Holocaust and related issues, but they also provide the lens through which to view all other human rights violations. For more information call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org
