JSO remembers Holocaust

By Lee Zucker

Published May 2, 2008

In observance of National Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is April 27, the Jewish Student Organization held several events and observation sights throughout the week.

The events began on April 23 with JSO members standing in Speaker’s Circle belting the names and ages — along with the phrase “died in the Holocaust” — for hundreds of Holocaust victims while handing out Star of David stickers.

That evening, Erika Mandler, a Holocaust survivor born in Vienna, Austria, now residing in Chillicothe, Mo., spoke about her experiences.

“I wanted to invite a local survivor just because someone who lives in Missouri may connect with people better, and I wanted people to realize that there are Holocaust survivors all around the country,” Holocaust Remembrance Week coordinator Rachel Rubin said. “I think the most important reason to have the speaker is because we’re the last generation to hear victims from the Holocaust speak.”

Mandler spoke of the struggles she endured in order to escape the Nazi regime. One of which was her six-month struggle for survival in the mountains while pregnant.

“I came to speak because I bring a very important message for the people at this university,” Mandler said. “It’s very important to hear and to know so (the Holocaust) is never forgotten.”

Rubin said the first-hand information is especially valuable for young people.

“We’re going to be the ones teaching people about the Holocaust,” she said.

A heap of shirts appeared in the center of Speaker’s Circle on Tuesday surrounded by barbed wire — another symbol of those taken in the Holocaust. The scene was inspired by a pile of shoes taken from Holocaust victims, which is on display in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The display appeared in Speaker’s Circle until Thursday.

“I’m very happy with the response to the barbed-wire fence in Speaker’s Circle,” Rubin said. “I think it’s catching a lot of people off-guard. When we catch people off-guard, they’re intrigued, and more and more people are participating.”

About 200 clothing items were collected. They will be donated to The Wardrobe in Columbia. The clothing collected was just as important as what the graveyard clothing drive portrayed, JSO President Shira Berkowitz said.

“It portrays how clothes were taken away from Holocaust victims and thrown in a pile,” she said. “We’re symbolizing that sign of disrespect with this clothing drive. Our goal is Holocaust remembrance, and it’s a plus that we’re donating clothes as well.”

Today is Yom HaShoah, the international Holocaust Remembrance Day, and JSO plans to have a special Shabbat service to commemorate the Holocaust and will hold important discussions about the holocaust, Rubin said.

Holocaust Remembrance week has grown exponentially since last year, JSO Vice President Scott Susman said.

“I think JSO has accomplished our goal of increasing awareness across campus,” he said. JSO worked to add events that would continue spreading awareness throughout the community.

“I hope that in the future, Holocaust Remembrance Week will become a large, public, anticipated event across campus so we can move awareness to further education and activism,” Susman said.