Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Forges New Partnership with Yeshiva University

May 14, 2021 by Inside Press

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, NY has entered into a partnership with the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University to further promote education programs, events and archived resources for schools and educators.

“We are very excited to be working with the Fish Center at Yeshiva University on this collaboration and partnership” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director at the HHREC. “Their University has taken a very important step in providing education on the Holocaust, and we look forward to working with them to promote and support their new education program for our growing community.”

“Holocaust Education, at its core, is character education – which is sorely needed in today’s world”, says Dr. Shay Pilnik, Director of the Fish Center. “With this new media series, students and adults will learn about leading edge initiatives from countries that were not directly involved in the Holocaust. We are grateful for the partnership with Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.”

The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies strives to build a cadre of teachers, professional and lay leaders across the United States who are committed to Holocaust Education and Remembrance, ready to meet the challenges that the field is facing as survivors of the Holocaust are passing away and awareness of the subject in public memory is fading. Through courses, lectures, conferences, research and more, the Fish Center is dedicated to the study of the Shoah (Holocaust) from a perspective steeped in the history, culture, religion, and spiritual life of the Jewish civilization annihilated by the Nazis and their collaborators. They are also planning lectures, workshops, seminars and communal resources and activities to ensure that the Shoah and other genocides will continue to be remembered and further studied. By leveraging world renowned scholars and offering innovative programming for students and the public, this mission is to ensure that the Holocaust and other genocides are remembered. The Fish Center offers a Master’s degree program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

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 over 1,500 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.

New Board Members Ziporah Janowski and Debby Ziering Join the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

April 14, 2021 by Inside Press

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, NY has announced their Board of Directors has elected Ziporah Janowski and Debby Ziering to join their board. Janowski and Ziering will serve three-year terms effective January 1, 2021.

“We are very pleased that Ziporah and Debby will be joining our board,” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director at the HHREC. “They have each been very supportive and engaged with HHREC over the years as speakers in our community, and we look forward to working with them to promote and support key initiatives we have planned for 2021 and beyond.”

Ziporah Janowski is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and is a member of the HHREC Generation Forward Speakers Bureau, a group of second and third generation individuals sponsored by the HHREC. Her speeches have described what life was like as the American child of Polish Holocaust survivors and the lasting imprint being Holocaust survivors left upon her parents. She works with her husband David as Co-Owner and Director of Shane Fit Camps, a group of weight loss and wellness camps that operate throughout the United States. Previously she was a litigation attorney and worked with Marsh & McLennan Inc. and with Mercer Consulting, and she is a board member of Teatown Lake Reservation.

Debby Ziering is also the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and member of the HHREC Generation Forward Speakers Bureau. Her speeches recount her father’s story from the perspective of a young teen and discusses how her father’s story has impacted her life. The Ziering family story is recounted in the Herman and Lea Ziering Archive Center at the Manhattan College Genocide and Multicultural Center in Riverdale, New York. Ziering co-teaches 8th grader at SAR Academy in the Names Not Numbers© Program, an oral history film project which enables students to interview Holocaust survivors to learn about World War II and create a documentary.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Ziporah Janowski and Debby Ziering to our board at HHREC” said Michael Gyory, HHREC Board Chairperson. “They already play a very important role in our mission, and we are very excited to have them join our board to help us develop our plans to grow awareness of the important work we are doing, here in Westchester County, and, increasingly, across the country and around the world.”

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center

Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Presents: Memory Keepers Story Hour

March 12, 2021 by Inside Press

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

Michael Gyory Named New Chairperson of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

February 18, 2021 by The Inside Press

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) announced their board of directors elected Michael Gyory to the position of Board Chairperson. Gyory, a real estate entrepreneur, began a three-year term on January 18th, 2021. He has been serving as a board member since 2019, and succeeds Joseph Kaidanow, who served as board chairperson since 2018. Kaidanow will continue to serve as a member of the HHREC Board of Directors.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to be Chairperson of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education center” said Kaidanow. “As the son of two Survivors, honoring those who have perished or endured the trauma of the Holocaust is a personal obligation for me. I also believe it is equally important to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to prevent humankind’s darker nature from prevailing in the future, and to advocate for the right of all people to live in peace and with dignity, and our education programs that help us achieve these goals. I wish my successor, Michael Gyory, who is also the son of two Survivors, much success in continuing our mission, and look forward to working with him as an active Board member and support him in any way I can.”

“I am deeply honored to be elected as the new board chair and look forward to working with my board colleagues to move HHREC’s mission forward,” said Gyory. “I want to thank the HHREC board of directors for its confidence in me to serve as board chair, and I especially thank Joseph Kaidanow for his years of leadership. Together with our board of directors, staff, and stakeholders, we are making a positive difference and continue to work towards our vision 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, and encourage students to speak up and act against all forms of bigotry and prejudice.”

Michael Gyory is the son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors. During World War II, his parents, as teenagers, were sent to concentration camps and slave labor camps. After surviving the horrors and torture of the war, they returned to Budapest to find that they were all alone. They managed to fall in love, marry, emigrate to America and have three children. Michael grew up in the seclusion of Northern Westchester county, and now lives in the Rivertowns. His son is currently attending college. Gyory holds a Master’s degree in Communication from the Annenberg School at the University of Pennsylvania. After a brief time in the corporate world, he has been a real estate entrepreneur, building houses, renovating and developing self-storage facilities. He is a graduate of Safekeeping Stories and as a memorist, has told of his family’s experiences in many schools and civic venues. He will be a speaker at the 2021 International Jewish Genealogical Conference and at the Irvington, NY Town Hall Theatre, and has published a story about his father’s home which can be found on the World Jewish Restitution Organization’s website. He is a graduate of the Leadership Conference of the Westchester Jewish Council.

For more information about the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, visit www.hhrecny.org</a

Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Memory Keepers: GenerationsForward Speaker Series-Sandra Mehl

December 2, 2020 by Inside Press

Please join the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Memory Keepers GenerationsForward Speaker Series on Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom in the safety and comfort of your own home.

Sandra Mehl is a first generation American who lost several family members in the Holocaust. She tells the story of the heroic deeds of the Horner and Kellner families, who lived in Poland, Germany, and Belgium. She shares her experiences growing up with survivors offering the message of hope for the next generations–how to shift from surviving to thriving.

Although Sandra’s story evolved from a commitment to keeping her family’s values and traditions alive and a desire to gift a unique legacy to her grandson, Zev, on the occasion of becoming a Bar Mitzvah, she is also determined to help the next generation to accept the call to action to make certain “never again.”

Sandra will discuss a family menorah that survived in her family leaving Nazi Europe. Last year, she took the menorah to the Antique Judaica Roadshow to have the menorah appraised. Learn what she discovered as she shares a story of the lengths some of us will go in order to put family first and foremost.

Sandra graduated from Columbia University and is a Licensed Master of Social work and practitioner of energy medicine. She has also taught Hebrew and Global Studies in community schools.

For Zoom log-in information, please email Millie Jasper mjasper@hhrecny.org

For information and donations to the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, visit www.hhrecny.org

Our next Memory Keepers GenerationsForward Speaker will be Shelley Greenspan on Thursday, December 17.