This presentation by Holocaust survivors Oscar Singer and Albert Farhy will focus on differences between Oscar and Albert’s Holocaust experiences, due to the actions of bystanders.
Oscar will discuss being a slave laborer in multiple concentration and death camps, including Auschwitz. Albert will discuss being in a Jewish ghetto in Bulgaria. Albert was not in a camp, due to the heroic actions of Bulgarian citizens and government officials, who did not comply with Nazi orders to deport Bulgarian Jews to Nazi-run camps.
Through this event, the Holocaust Remembrance Committee and the Jewish Student Union hope to show that IUP is a unified community dedicated to speaking out against antisemitism and all forms of hate. Together with Holocaust survivors Oscar Singer and Albert Farhy, members of the IUP community will discuss the importance of bystanders and the dangers of hate—especially when not addressed and allowed to continue with no response, sending the message that it is acceptable. IUP employee Simon Stuchlik will provide an introduction about the roles of his grandparents as ordinary German citizens during the Holocaust.
No registration is required for the event, which is free and open to the public. Attendance vouchers for students will be available.
As part of this event, the Holocaust Remembrance Committee and Jewish Student Union are collecting items for the R. K. Agarwal MD & Family Teen Shelter in Altoona. Items needed include clothing for ages 12 to 17, hygiene products, individually packaged snacks, gift cards, school supplies, crayons, coloring books, bicycles, and sporting equipment. Donations can be brought to the September 26 presentation or dropped off in a collection box in the Uhler Hall lobby until December 17.