University of Sussex – Holocaust Memorial Day – HMD 2024
Activity information
Activity type: Public activity
Organisation name: Weidenfeld Institute
Website: https://alumni.sussex.ac.uk/hmd-booking
Address:
University of Sussex campus
Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Gardner Center Rd
Falmer, Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 9RA
United Kingdom
Holocaust Memorial Day at The University of Sussex 2024
Wednesday 7 February 14:00 until 17:00
Our annual Holocaust Memorial Day event will take place at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of Sussex on Wednesday 7 February 2024, 2-5pm.
The programme will be split into two sessions:
Session 1 - Testimony from our guest speaker, Holocaust Survivor, Ivor Perl BEM
Ivor Perl was born on 4 February 1932, in the Hungarian town of Mako. He was 12 years old when he was taken to Auschwitz. He survived with the help of his older brother, but the rest of his family were murdered in the Holocaust.
“Out of my family of nine children and my parents, only me and my brother Alec survived. He saved me from the jaws of death.”
After liberation, the brothers stayed in a displaced persons’ camp, attempting to find out what had happened to their family. Months later, they were told by the Red Cross that neither their parents nor any of their siblings had survived. In November 1945, Ivor and Alec managed to get on a transport to England, where they settled in London.
Ivor says: “All I can do is talk about my experiences and tell whoever wants to listen what happened. Even if there’s only one person who has heard either me or somebody else’s story, it makes a difference.”
Ivor, who is now in his 90s, will be accompanied by his granddaughter Lia Bratt, to help tell his story.
Lia Bratt is a speaker for the Holocaust Education charity, Generation 2 Generation, also known as G2G. G2G empowers second and third generation Holocaust survivors and close family friends to present their family histories to a wide range of audiences. Through the use of survivor testimony, G2G aims to keep these Holocaust stories alive and promote the importance of inclusivity and Human Rights. There are currently 34 speakers, including 7 members of the third generation.. G2G is keen to recruit more 3 G speakers and speakers from outside. Currently 20 people are developing their presentations with Generation 2 Generation.
Ivor’s story will be followed by a question-and-answer session chaired by Professor Gideon Reuveni, Director of The Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies
Session 2 - ‘The Third Reich of Dreams’, a taster of the film which is still in pre-production will be shown. This will be followed by a discussion with Amanda Rubin, the Director of the film. Chaired by Professor Ivor Gaber, Professor of Political Journalism
Amanda is an experienced specialist factual and documentary Producer/Director who delivers emotionally powerful, visually compelling, and popular stories to high-rating audiences. She is currently developing ‘The Third Reich of Dreams’ a feature documentary with Snowstorm Productions and is republishing the book of the same title with Princeton University Press.
We are most grateful to The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) who are kindly supporting this important event.
This event is open to all students, staff and alumni and our wider community. However, booking is essential.
Book your free place
POLENAKTION/OCTOBER 1938 - THE STORY OF AN EXPULSION FROM GERMANY
Alongside our Holocaust Memorial Day programme, we will be displaying an exhibition which recalls events from October 1938. The exhibition tells the history of the so-called “Polenaktion”, the first mass expulsion of Jews from Germany in 1938. Around 17,000 people were forced to cross the border into Poland at gunpoint, becoming refugees there. The fate of six families from Germany is key to the exhibition. We learn about their life before the expulsion, during the expulsion, as refugees and their life and death in the Shoah.
The exhibition was developed by the Aktives Museum Berlin Faschismus and Widerstand in 2023.
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