We are over half-way through a six-week program we created based on our book entitled, "The Next Generation's Legacy of the Holocaust". This educational series is sponsored through the online programming arm of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Each of the weekly sessions includes different panels of authors presenting  their personal reflections and stories related to a major theme, with Rita Benn, Ruth Wade and Joy Wolfe Ensor taking turns serving as the moderators. Participants have the opportunity to expand on their learning by visiting a syllabus we developed that lists a variety of resources related to each topic. We are very excited that 35 participants from 14 different OLLI schools spanning 10 states have enrolled. The committment of participants to attend each week has been amazing, and equally so, has been their level of engagement. Week after week, they return listening respectfully, asking thoughtful questions, sharing their own personal stories, and showing their appreciation. We are very grateful to online OLLI for this opportunity - one that enriches both our presenters and OLLI participants. 

On January 14 and 28th, Rita Benn and Ruth Wade offered for the first time, a two-session memoir writing workshop for second-generation descendants of the Holocaust sponsored by the Holocaust Learning Experience, a program of the MorseLife Foundation. The program, limited to 25 participants, filled up almost as soon as it was announced.  Attendees were very excited by this program. They appreciated the opportunity to be in community with others who shared the same ancestral background. The structure of prompts and paired interaction created a safe space to explore the impact of the Holocuast on their own lived experience. Many had not delved into writing about their own family experiences prior to their enrollment. As one participant remarked, "Thanks so much for offering this important workshop. I also appreciate you sharing your book and your own moving personal stories. I see my parents, myself and my family in the stories and it is amazing at this point in my life to have this shared experience. Until I met my husband, I had never met another survivor family. I’ve been writing my parents’ story for awhile and only recently began to write mine. The prompts you gave brought out new ideas and helped me to see things in a different way. The workshop has moved me forward in my personal writing journey ... being part of a small writing group is so helpful." In reflecting on what's next, the majority of participants exclaimed a desire to continue writing together.  We are in discussion with MorseLife on ways to promote this opportunity. 

On January 30, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo hosted a two-hour session where three of our authors -Natalie Iglewicz, Ruth Finkel Wade, and Joy Wolfe Ensor - presented their excerpts from our book to illustrate and reflect on three major themes: intergenerational trauma, dehumanization, and post-traumatic growth. The Q&A and discussion that followed was deep and meaningful. Participants spoke of their awareness of the parallels between the history of the Holocaust and present-day events, and many shared their own personal family Holocaust connections  (an uncle who liberated camps; a father who’d immigrated from Germany at a young age; a family who had a rule about not looking at the past). The instructor feedback survey was unanimous in giving the session the highest ratings. Attendees praised “the authenticity and vulnerability demonstrated by the presenters who simultaneously showed strength and courage,” and the session as “very moving, difficult and beautiful.” Most powerful for us was one comment in particular, “We are your witnesses and we will pass your stories along”.  Having our stories live on in those who have listened or read our chapters affirms a major purpose we had in publishing our book. 

As word of our book has spread, we have been excited to accept invitations by law firms who are interested to strengthen their staff's understanding of the larger world and clients they serve through ongoing education. On January 29, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day observance, we presented a program called “Carrying Our Legacy Forward” for BCLP, a large international law firm headquartered in St. Louis. We were thrilled that our Survivor elder Irene Butter (the recipient of multiple international humanitarian awards and the author of our book’s foreword) joined Joy Wolfe Ensor, Ruth Wade and Rita Benn in sharing her story. Irene focused her remarks on her experience living through a Nazi dictatorship, and the perils of creeping autocracy, speaking with heart, clarity and purpose - 'never be a bystander'. Rita and Joy spoke to their second-generation legacies, and Ruth moderated the discussion. The audience of 75 attendees was deeply moved by the presentation, asking probing questions about history, remembrance, and reconciliation, and most of all, inspired by 94-year-old Irene.