2020-2023 Recorded Presentations

The Heroes of the Czech Scroll Story

Lois Roman, Memorial Scrolls Trust

In this presentation, Lois Roman shares the story of individuals responsible for the Czech Scrolls. The Memorial Scrolls Trust in London cares for 1564 Torah scrolls that represent the lost Jewish communities of Bohemia and Moravia. The scrolls arrived in London in 1964, after being stored for more than 20 years in the former Michle Synagogue in Prague. This presentation will discuss some of the heroes that helped save these scrolls.

Against Orders: How Two Diplomats Rescued 15,00 Jews

Amber Garcia, Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy

In this presentation, Amber Garcia shares the fascinating stories of Japanese Diplomat Chiune Sempo Sugihara and Portuguese Diplomat Aristides Sousa Mendes that were responsible for rescuing 15,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Both of these men disobeyed their governments’ orders and helped thousands of Jews emigrate out of Nazi-controlled Europe.

The Story of the Czech Scrolls

Lois Roman, Memorial Scrolls Trust

In this presentation, Lois Roman shares the history of the Czech Scrolls and how they are now being used to commemorate the Holocaust. The Memorial Scrolls Trust in London cares for 1564 Torah scrolls that represent the lost Jewish communities of Bohemia and Moravia. The scrolls arrived in London in 1964, after being stored for more than 20 years in the former Michle Synagogue in Prague.

Golda Solitair-Scharff’s Survival Experience

Sharon Scharff Greenwald, HMMSA Docent & Child of Survivors

In this presentation, Sharon Scharff Greenwald shares her mother’s story of survival during the Holocaust. Golda Solitair-Scharff grew up as a middle child in a well-to-do family in Sokal, Poland, near the Ukrainian border. In 1942, the Russian army invaded Poland, followed shortly by the German invasion of Poland, forever changing the course of Golda’s life

Jewish Ghettos in the Holocaust

Dr. Roger Barnes, Professor Emeritus of Sociology - University of the Incarnate Word

In this presentation, Dr. Barnes discusses life in the Jewish Ghettos during the Holocaust. Beginning in 1939, Jews living in Nazi-controlled territory were evicted from their homes and were forced to live in segregated and overcrowded ghettos.

Selling Genocide, Witnessing Genocide: The Holocaust

Dr. Alberto Giordano, Texas State University

In this presentation, Dr. Giordano discusses how images, posters, and films have been used as tools for propaganda by the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust and as witness to genocide by its victims. The presentation goes on to address the stages of genocide and address the question of why people commit genocide and how genocide can be prevented.

The Geography of the Rescuer

Chris Anderson & Dr. Alberto Giordano, Texas State University

In this presentation, Chris Anderson discuss rescuers of Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including where rescues happened and examines whether some people and places were more likely to be involved in rescue. 

Female Rescuers and Resistance Fighters

Wendy Lockard, St. Jerome Catholic School

In this presentation, Wendy Lockard shares the stories of female rescuers and resistance fighters during the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, despite the difficulty and danger, many women, in and out of the camps, ghettos, and in resistance, chose to care for others. Students will examine the lives and accomplishments of five courageous women: Hannah Senesh, Hanneke Ippisch, Sara Ginaite, Corrie ten Boom and Irena Sendler. By learning the stories of these women, students will gain an understanding of the difficult decisions some individuals made in choosing to fight oppression, even when it meant risking their lives.

Nazi Medical Experiments and Medical Ethics post-WWII

Dr. Jason Morrow & Dr. Rachael Vandermeer, UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine

In this presentation, Dr. Morrow & Dr. Vandermeer discuss the role of medicine and experimentation during the Holocaust and the impact they have had on modern-day medical ethics. While the Nazi killing centers were primarily places of death, some camps were also used by Nazi doctors as laboratories. These physicians conducted a number of cruel and inhumane experiments on the prisoners at these camps in the name of science.

From the Ashes of Nazi Death Camps to Olympic Training Camps: A Holocaust Story of Redemption

Winslow Swart, Child of Survivors

In this presentation Winslow Swart tells about his mother’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. Sonja van der Stam was born in the Netherlands and survived for two years in three different concentration camps before being liberated at 14 years old. After the war she lived in an orphanage where she discovered a love and a talent for track and field. She would go on to win medals in many countries and qualified for the Dutch Olympic team.

My Mother and Grandmother: What They Endured

Ginny Wind, Child of a Survivor (January 25, 2021)

Please watch to see Ginny Wind describe the survival of her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Living in Poland prior to the war, the family was concerned about the threat of Nazi invasion and did their best to escape. They sent one of their daughters to live with family in Mexico while the rest of the family fled to Lithuania. However, the Nazis soon captured Lithuania as well, and the family was sent to concentration camps. 

La Vida de mi Madre en Hungría (My Mother’s Life in Hungary)

Anita Goldberg, Child of Survivors (en español)

In this Spanish language presentation, Anita Goldberg describes her mother’s experiences during the Holocaust. Her mother grew up in a farming family in Hungary prior to the war. Once the Nazis entered Hungary, her family was sent to live in a ghetto and were eventually shipped by train to Auschwitz. After liberation, Ms. Goldberg’s mother immigrated to Mexico and started a new life.

The Untold Story of Regina Jonas: The First Ordained Female Rabbi

Rabbi Mara Nathan

In this lecture, Rabbi Mara Nathan tells how Regina Jonas became the first female rabbi. Rabbi Jonas emerged as an important religious leader for the Jewish community in the Theresienstadt ghetto, an unusual path for a Jewish woman at that time. She was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 where she was murdered and her story was only rediscovered in the 1990s.

My Grandmother: Art and Resilience

Helen Pankowsky, Child of a Survivor

In this presentation Dr. Helen Pankowsky shares the artwork of her grandmother, Sofia Davidson. Sofia was a Holocaust survivor who used her experience escaping from the Nazis to inspire her painting.

Four Women from Bialystok: Four Stories of Survival

Liz Reichman, HMMSA Docent

In this talk, students will hear the stories of 4 women who survived the Holocaust in very different ways. They will also get to consider how women’s experiences during the Holocaust were often much different from those of men.

My Parents’ Holocaust Experiences

Robi Jalnos, Child of Survivors

Please watch to see Robi Jalnos describe how his parents survived the Holocaust in Poland. Both of Mr. Jalnos’ parents experienced life in the ghettos before being sent to die in concentration camps. Against all odds, his parents survived and were able to build a new family together.

How My Mother Weathered the Storm

Varda Ratner, Child of Survivors

In this presentation, Varda Ratner describes how her mother, Ilona Haendel survived the Holocaust. Ilona was born in Budapest, Hungary. She and her family suffered anti-Jewish laws even before the Nazis invaded their country. After they did, Ilona’s family was sent to the ghetto but were helped by a non-Jewish friend, and eventually received Swiss letters of protection that kept the family safe for some time. After a period of time, the Nazis refused to honor these documents and Ilona was forced on a death march from Budapest to Vienna. She and her mother escaped and then hid in the home of a non-Jewish friend, until the Russians liberated Budapest.

My Mother and Grandmother: What They Endured

Ginny Wind, Child of a Survivor (January 29, 2021)

In this presentation Ginny Wind describes the survival of her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Living in Poland prior to the war, the family was concerned about the threat of Nazi invasion and did their best to escape. They sent one of their daughters to live with family in Mexico while the rest of the family fled to Lithuania. However, the Nazis soon captured Lithuania as well and the family was sent to concentration camps.

My Father and What He Withstood

Sharon Scharff Greenwald, Child of a Survivor

In this address, Sharon Greenwald describes how her father, David Scharff, used his wits and charm to survive the Holocaust. David was born in Poland and served in the Polish Army. He was captured by the Germans and sent back to the ghetto in his hometown and eventually deported to Auschwitz. He suffered slave labor, severe illness, and nearly died. As the Russians approached, he was sent on a death march but managed to escape.  

The Liberation of Gardelegen: What My Father Saw

Roy Kamin, Child of a Liberator

In this lecture, Roy Kamin reviews what his father witnessed as a U. S. military doctor, when the army liberated a concentration camp at Gardelegen.

Setting Differences Aside: Rescuers of the Muslim Faith

Nicole Munoz

Please watch as HMMSA staff member Nicole Munoz, discusses a number of individuals that earned the title of “Righteous Amongst the Nations.” Despite religious differences, these Muslims risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Ask a Question, Expect an Answer

Esther FeinberG, Child of Survivors

In this presentation, Esther Feinberg discusses what it was like growing up as a child of Holocaust survivors. Her parents were reluctant to tell her about their experiences when she was growing up and as an adult, she reflects on the things she wishes she could have talked to them about.

My Father’s Suffering

Dr. Anatole Trakhtenbroit, Child of a Survivor

In this talk Dr. Anatole Trakhtenbroit describes what his father went through in Romania during the Holocaust. Includes excerpts of his father’s first-hand accounts of the events.

Children of the Holocaust

Lisa Barry, 5th Grade Teacher AHISD

Lisa Barry, the Maxine Cohen Educator Award winner of 2018, reads The Promise by Pnina Bat Zvi and Margie Wolfe. Mrs. Barry also provides a list of other books that can be used by K-5 educators to introduce the subject of the Holocaust to younger audiences.

Lessons Learned From Visiting the Camps

Tristan Bourgoin, Student

In this informal Q&A, Tristan Bourgoin discusses his experience on the 2018 Holocaust Study Seminar. During this seminar, Tristan and other local San Antonio teenagers traveled to Europe to learn about the Holocaust and visit the historical sites associated with this dark chapter in history.

Literary Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto: Emmanuel Ringelblum

Julie Tzucker

In this lecture, former HMMSA staff member Julie Tzucker describes the efforts of Emmanuel Ringelblum to document the conditions inside the Warsaw ghetto.

I Was a Child During the November Pogrom (Kristallnacht)

Ursala Kaplan, Survivor

In this address survivor Ursala Kaplan remembers what it was like in Germany during the November Pogrom, though the eyes of a child, and her family’s escape to safety afterwards.

Oscar Ehrenberg: Survivor

Laura Ehrenberg-Chesler, Child of Survivors

Please watch as Laura Ehrenberg-Chesler describes how her father Oscar Ehrenberg survived the Holocaust. Oscar was born in Czechoslovakia but shortly after World War II erupted, his parents arranged for him and his sister to be smuggled over the border to Hungary, in hopes of keeping them safe. There, he and his sister lived in hiding for several years before they were discovered and sent to Auschwitz.

Betrayal & Defiance: The Story of Lucien Moreau

Olivier Bourgoin, Grandchild of a Rescuer

In this presentation, Olivier Bourgoin tells how his grandfather helped a Jewish-owned business in occupied France, only to be betrayed by a close friend.

Resistance: The Bielski Brothers and the Perseverance of a Family Camp

Nicole Munoz

In this talk, former HMMSA staff member Nicole Munoz tells the incredible story of the Bielski brothers. These brothers led a partisan resistance group that helped to hide and protect Jewish refugees in the forests of Belarus.

An Introduction to the Holocaust & Survival Experience of Sam Cohen

Len King, HMMSA Docent

In this lecture, HMMSA docent Len King, explains some of the history of the Holocaust and Jerome Cohen discusses his father’s survival experience.

An Introduction to the Holocaust

Gene Festa, HMMSA Docent

In this presentation, HMMSA docent Gene Festa, explains some of the history of the Holocaust.

A Survivor’s Experience

Ginny Wind, Child of a Survivor

In this address, Ginny Wind describes the survival of her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Living in Poland prior to the war, the family was concerned about the threat of Nazi invasion and did their best to escape. They sent one of their daughters to live with family in Mexico while the rest of the family fled to Lithuania. However, the Nazis soon captured Lithuania as well and the family was sent to concentration camps.