Student Tribune

Finding Light in the Darkness: HGHRP's 34th Annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration

Please join us on Thursday, May 2nd, for the HGHRP's 34th Annual Yom HaShoah commemoration events. This year we are finding light in the darkest of times and focusing on life after hate.

• In the morning, there will be an opening ceremony in the Atrium at 9:30 am, followed by the Calling of the Names and Candle Lighting from 10:00 am to 2:00pm.
• Leading up to May 2nd, tour the photo exhibit of local survivors and read about their stories. The photos will be on exhibit all week in the Atrium.

Please also come listen to local Holocaust Survivor Sam Rind share his story. The opportunity to do so becomes ever rarer with the passing of time.

12:00 PM Sam Rind, Forum (3-130)
Sam is a child survivor of the Holocaust. Born near Lublin, Poland in 1937, Sam’s family was in various ghettos and forced labor camps where Sam’s father was killed for the leather jacket on his back. Sam also witnessed his younger brother being killed in his mother’s arms by a Nazi guard. He and his mother eventually escaped to the Ukrainian ghetto of Szmerinka to be with other relatives. Sam had to dress as a girl to do this. At the end of the war, they returned to Poland to find relatives. Finding none, they formed a little kibbutz with other Jewish survivors but eventually wanted to leave because of continued anti-Semitism. They were not permitted entry to the United States where Sam’s uncle lived so they went to Bolivia to be with another one of Sam’s uncles. In 1960, Sam was able to come to the U.S. to attend college in Buffalo.  He became an optician and is still in this profession today.

Allen, Chloe
Student Life & Leadership Develop.
04/29/2024