Survival Celebrated at Colorado State University’s 12th Annual Holocaust Awareness Week

Students for Holocaust Awareness and Hillel present the 12th Annual Holocaust Awareness Week at Colorado State University from March 3-7. This year’s theme is "Whoever Saves One Life, Saves The World Entire," a quote by Oskar Schindler.

"We chose this theme because we are interested in Schindler’s story as an ordinary man who went out of his way to save hundreds of Jews," said Molly Zwerdlinger, president of Students for Holocaust Awareness. "The quote embodies our goals for presenting this year’s events. His story is inspiring and something we should all learn from."

Holocaust survivor Zev Kedem will be the keynote speaker for Holocaust Awareness Week. He will present his program, "Schindler’s List: A Survivor Celebrates Life," at 7 p.m. March 5 in the Lory Student Center North Ballroom.

Kedem is one of 1,100 Jews who survived the Holocaust by being placed on Schindler’s now-famous list of factory employees. His program follows a presentation of Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film, "Schindler’s List," at 6:30 p.m. March 4 in the Lory Student Center Theatre.

Kedem consulted on and appeared in the 1993 film. His true story of survival and courage has impacted crowds at more than 200 universities and community organizations.

At 7 p.m. March 3, three Holocaust survivors will share their stories in the Lory Student Center Main Ballroom during the annual Survivors Panel. Jack Adler, Eric Cahn and Andre Mark will each share their personal stories of survival during the Holocaust. A question-and-answer session with the audience will follow. All survivors are Colorado residents.

Adler is a Jew from Poland who was the only member of his immediate family to survive Nazi death camps. Each year he shares his story with more than 45,000 people.

Cahn was born in Germany and was a toddler during the Holocaust. A French family risked their lives to hide him in their basement while his parents were imprisoned in Auschwitz.  Mark lost his entire immediate family to Nazi concentration camps. He spent time in multiple concentration camps and weighed only 60 pounds when he was liberated.  

At 7 p.m. March 6, Students for Holocaust Awareness will present the documentary film, "The Devil Came on Horseback," in Room 214-216 Lory Student Center. The 2007 award-winning film, based on a true story, depicts the genocide of black Africans by the Janjaweed militias in Darfur, Sudan, as seen through the eyes of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle.

Additionally, a Litany of Martyrs will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every day in the Lory Student Center Sunken Lounge. During this time, volunteers will take turns reading names of some of those who died during the Holocaust. Community members are welcome to volunteer for this event. A Field of Flags, which will be set up Friday, Feb. 29, at 3 p.m., will be on display during the entire week on the Lory Student Center Plaza. The flags represent the different groups murdered during the Holocaust, with each flag representing 5,000 victims.

The week will conclude with a memorial service at noon March 7 in the Lory Student Center Art Lounge.

Holocaust Awareness Week is sponsored by Students for Holocaust Awareness and Hillel. For more information and a complete list of events, contact Hillel at Colorado State University at (970) 491-2080 or refer to the calendar on the Hillel Web site at www.csu.hillelcolorado.org.

All events are free and open to the public thanks to funding provided by the Associated Students of Colorado State University, Hillel of Colorado and the Association for Student Activity Programming.

-30-