March 20, 2011 - 4:35pm
Students honor Holocaust survivors at 3rd Holocaust luncheon
BY LIZZY ALFS
- Mia Marino/Daily
Abe Pasternak will never forget the number 57929. It is the number that replaced his identity when he entered the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in 1944.
“We were treated like garbage,” Pasternak said. “The only thing I was left with was my shoes.”
Pasternak, along with more than 50 Holocaust survivors, shared his story at the Conference on the Holocaust's third annual Survivor Luncheon at Hillel yesterday. The event hosted more than 250 guests, many who were family members of survivors and University students.
LSA sophomore Haley Volk, a co-chair for the event, said she wanted to help organize the lunch because hearing her grandparents’ Holocaust experiences motivated her to keep their stories alive.
“When my grandfather passed away I realized he’s never going to be able to tell his story,” Volk said. “I promised to tell the story, and I hope people are going to listen to what they hear today and then tell it to their children.”
LSA sophomore Stephanie Gorin, another co-chair for the event, said organizers aimed to attract a diverse audience, including those outside the Jewish community.
The purpose of the event was to promote awareness of the Holocaust to the entire Michigan community, especially those with little knowledge of what happened in concentration camps, Volk said.
Dr. Charley Silow, director for the Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Michigan and an organizer of the lunch, said in an interview after the survivors’ speeches that spreading awareness of the Holocaust is important — even six decades after the genocide occurred.
“As time goes on people forget the impact of how devastating the Holocaust was,” Silow said. “This is an incredible opportunity for students to know the history about what happened firsthand.”
Two survivors sat at each table and told their stories. After, guests had the opportunity to ask questions and children of survivors lit candles to commemorate those who died in the Holocaust.
Silow said preserving and passing on those memories will hopefully help to combat future genocides in the world.
“In our world there is so much hatred and oppressions, and we need reminders of what can result from that,” Silow said. “I think the more we remember, the more sensitive we become, and we become better human beings.”
Engineering sophomore Allie Gold attended the event, during which her grandmother — a Holocaust survivor — shared her experience. Gold said events like these are important to make sure that future generations continue to be informed of the tragedies that occurred during the Holocaust.
“You get people who may have never even heard of the Holocaust outside of a history book, and they bring (the information) back to their friends, and it helps bring the message to more and more people,” Gold said.
