On Sunday, November 12, the Kurt & Tessye Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance will sponsor a program to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht in November 1938 – an event which foretold the horrors of the Holocaust. This event will begin at 2pm on the campus of the Jewish Federation; the program will be followed by a reception. A Zoom option is also available.

Fifteen-twenty years ago, several congregants at a synagogue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who were the children and other family members of Holocaust victims and survivors, began writing down their stories. Eventually, after recognizing the commonalities and differences in those stories, they decided to create a book to share them more widely. The result is The Ones Who Remember: Second-Generation Voices of the Holocaust. This book provides a window into the lived experience of sixteen different families grappling with the legacy of genocide. Each author reveals the many ways their parents’ Holocaust traumas and survival seeped into their souls and then affected their subsequent family lives. More information can be found on their website – SecondGenerationVoices.com.

On November 12, a few of those authors will share their stories – not only the actual family histories, but how writing these down, and then sharing them with others, has contributed to Holocaust education as well as their own understanding and healing. Their presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

Pre-registration for the program is encouraged; all registrants will receive a copy of the book. Authors will be happy to sign the books at the reception.

Please visit their website SecondGenerationVoices.com to learn more about the authors and their book.