MKA Students Invite Guest Speaker to Annual Holocaust Rembrance Assembly

The MKA Upper School held its annual Holocaust Remembrance Assembly on April 8, the result of collaboration between seniors in the Holocaust and Genocide course and students in the Jewish Cultural Society.

With a candle of remembrance for the millions who perished burning on-stage, the assembly began with an introduction about the Holocaust that included a showing of the official Holocaust Remembrance Day video from the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., and a presentation from students on why it is so essential to remember this genocide.

Special guest speaker Mrs. Hanna Wechsler, a Holocaust survivor, then spoke about her personal experiences growing up as a child in Poland. Forced into hiding with her parents, the family were taken to the Krakow Ghetto but managed to escape to Hungary until they were captured and sent to Auschwitz in 1944.  Mrs. Wechsler shared some of her memories from her time in Auschwitz, including a terrifying encounter between her mother and Dr. Josef Mengele.

Bringing the past vividly to life, Mrs. Wechsler stressed that the events of the Holocaust cannot be forgotten, and students understood that it is now their responsibility to honor the memory of both the victims and the survivors.