Stories from the Holocaust Event

On April 19th, 2012 in Muntz 119 at 7 p.m. an event titled "Stories from the Holocaust" took place. This event was put together by UCBA Drs. Krista Sigler and Cynthia Crane to commemorate the Holocaust.

This event included a wide range of speakers from Werner Coppel, a Holocaust survivor, to Lt. Saul Marmer, a camp liberator, to Ray Warren and Sandy Kaltman, second generation Holocaust survivors. Each of the speakers shared stories about how the Holocaust affected their lives.

Attendees were welcomed by Dean Cady Short-Thompson. The members of the audience ranged from UCBA students and faculty to high school students and members of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.

Werner Coppel was the first speaker at the "Stories from the Holocaust" event. Coppel discussed his life during the years before the war and his decision to become a member of the Zionist Youth Group. After his parents and brother were taken by the Nazis, Coppel returned to Germany where he was captured and placed in a labor camp. He was then sent to Auschwitz-Buna, the concentration camp. While on the Death March, Coppel was able to get away from the Nazis in January of 1945.

The next speaker was Sandy Kaltman who is a daughter of two Holocaust survivors. Kaltman decided to tell her mother's story of survival. Her mother was from Lodz, Poland and she was, like Coppel, placed in a labor camp at the age of 13 and was forced to begin to work. Kaltman's mother was able to escape from the Nazis in a manner similar to Coppel's escape. Both of Kaltman's parents found their way to America after they married in Germany.

Sandy Kaltman was followed by Lt. Saul Marmer who served as an officer in the American Army during the war and he liberated the Nazis' concentration camp. Marmer described his life as a soldier who experienced the Holocaust from a different perspective. He explained he was a platoon leader of the 310th Regiment, one of the last groups of soldiers to travel to Germany during the war.

The final speaker at the event was Ray Warren, whose parents were also Holocaust survivors. Warren told the story of his father's experiences throughout the war. His father was married and had a child named Adam before the war started. However, he was not able to find his family after it ended. Warren discussed the important impact that the war had not only on the survivors but on their children as well.

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education worked with the UCBA professors to design this event which took place on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Director of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education even took part in the event as the moderator.

There was an amazing turnout at the Holocaust event with estimates of over 500 attendees. When organizing the event, Professors Sigler and Crane were expecting around 200 people to attend. However, before the speakers even had a chance to be introduced the event had run out of programs and faculty members were lining up chairs to accommodate all the attendees.

After all the speakers had a chance to tell their stories, the audience had an opportunity to interact with these amazing people. After the audience's question and answer section was over all those present were able to attend a reception that followed in the library.

It was clear to everyone who attended that all those involved in planning the "Stories from the Holocaust" event did a marvelous job.

The Holocaust event was also arranged with the European Studies program in mind. The European Studies certificate is offered from the College of Arts and Sciences and it encourages students to study both European history and culture. For more information about the European Studies program at UC visit Dr. Sigler.

Furthermore, both Drs. Crane and Sue Sipple discuss the history of the Holocaust in their Topics in Literature courses. Students at UCBA who wish to further their knowledge about the Holocaust have many opportunities to do so by enrolling in Drs. Crane and Sipple's literature courses or completing the European Studies program.

UCBA's YouTube channel UC Blue Ash will be uploading footage of the event if you were not able to attend but would like to experience it. Additionally, you can visit http://www.facebook.com/ucblueash to view images of the event.

The benefits that oral history has for society are immeasurable and UCBA is very fortunate to have faculty members who understand history's value.

It is extremely important for people to know about tragic events from history such as the Holocaust to make sure that they will not happen again. Werner Coppel ended his speech with a passionate plea to those in the audience to "stand up against hate and prejudice even if it does not affect you." If people continue to inform themselves about the past and follow Coppel's simple advice then the world will surely become a better place.