E. Bay to remember Holocaust teens, teachers, rescuers

Four Contra Costa Midrasha students -- Laura Colon, Lee Goldin, Jenna Hammerling and Gabe Rose -- will open the Yom HaShoah program in Contra Costa County with stories of teens who lived under Nazi occupation. The commemoration will take place 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Congregation B'nai Shalom, 74 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek.

Following the readings, folklorist Mark Klempner will speak. In 1966, he traveled to the Netherlands under the auspices of Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem to interview 25 Dutch individuals who had risked their lives to rescue and hide Jews during the Nazi occupation.

In his presentation, Klempner will describe his encounters with the rescuers and share some of the stories with which they entrusted him.

"Those who learn about the rescuers often feel inspired and challenged, as well as informed," Klempner said. "Though the tragic consequences of the Holocaust can never be undone, and should never be minimized, the rescuers revealed the ultimate power of the individual to stand up against evil."

The son of a Holocaust survivor, Klempner worked as a musician for several decades before pursuing his current interest in history and writing.

In 1997, he graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in English. He continued his studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he completed a master's degree in folklore in May 2000. His academic honors include a J. William Fulbright Fellowship, the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award and the F. Conger Wood Award from the Institute for European Studies at Cornell University.

The Holocaust commemoration in Alameda County will take place 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Beth Jacob Congregation, 3778 Park Blvd., Oakland. Each of the presenters -- including Zack Appleby-Leo, Lilian Cohen, Achim Lyon, Adelia Malmuth, Rebecca Rudolph and Aliza Sinkinson -- will discuss the Holocaust from a different perspective.

During the program, Elizabeth Cohen, who, as an army nurse, went to Dachau at the end of World War II, will share memories of her experience. She worked in a research group that was dedicated to finding a cure for typhus, a disease that was rampant in the concentration camps and overcrowded ghettos.

This year's Alameda County commemoration also will include, in honor of Rene Molho, the renaming of the annual award given to educators who teach students about the Holocaust.

"Rene has dedicated decades of his life to educating Bay Area youth about the Holocaust," said Leo. "He has done this through chairing of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee and lecturing in Bay Area public and private schools."

This year's recipients of the award include Molho, Louis de Groot, David Galant, Harry Hankin and Ernie Hollander and Molho. All are survivors living in the East Bay who have personalized the Holocaust experience by speaking at schools.

"Each of them has given a face to the horrors faced by millions of Jews during World War II," said Leo. "Their stories bring the reality of what happened closer and thus make it more believable."

Admission to each of the commemorations is free. For more information, call the Center for Jewish Living and Learning at (510) 839-2900, ext. 253.