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MCC Daily Tribune

Tell Everyone My Story

The Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project (HGHRP) has been inviting Holocaust survivors to share their stories for 30 years. Hearing their stories in the first person will not exist in the distant future. As we approach the 30th Annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration this year we will continue to share the stories of the Rochester Holocaust survivors who have spoken at MCC.

Today, we would like to introduce you to: STEVEN HESS

Steven Hess and his twin sister, Marion, were born in Amsterdam. In 1943, his family was taken to Westerbork, a Dutch transit camp, before finally being sent to Bergen Belsen where conditions were so horrific that by the end of the year, nearly 15,000 Jews died each month from starvation, disease, neglect and maltreatment. Steven and his sister, then seven years old were an exception; many children did not survive.

By April 1945, they were herded onto cattle trains headed for what the train engineer called their "final voyage." Fourteen days later, with almost a third of the passengers dead, the train, later known as the "lost transport" because it meandered directionless for two weeks back and forth through Germany, was liberated by advancing Russian troops.

Eventually Hess's family returned to Holland and emigrated to the United States. Steven lived in New York City, graduated from Columbia University in 1960, and served as a naval officer from 1960 to 1964 before moving to Rochester in 1975. He now lives in Pittsford, and continues to speak today about the Holocaust

We invite you to join HGHRP alumni and current student leaders in paying tribute to Rochester-area Holocaust Survivors by helping to establish an endowed scholarship in their name at the MCC Foundation. The Chai Scholarship: A Tribute to Rochester Holocaust Survivors, will be awarded to an MCC student who reflects these survivors' courage and spirit. Your donation can be sent to the MCC Foundation in care of Chai Scholarship.

The 30th Annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration will be Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in the R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center Atrium. Our traditional candle lighting ceremony, calling of the names and Holocaust survivor testimony will begin at 9:00AM.

Hosted by the HGHRP, this event is free and open to the college community. Contact Jodi Oriel Office of Student Life and Leadership Development at joriel@monroecc.edu for more information.

Attached Files:
Hess Survivor Tribute.pdf

Angelique Stevens
Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project
03/03/2020