An Evening with Michigan Hillel's Students

On March 18, 2025 three of our authors, Rita Benn, Julie Ellis and Eszter Gombosi took part in a presentation for University of Michigan Hillel's SHARE Program (Students for Holocaust Awareness, Remembrance, and Education.) Several of the students who attended the program had also participated in the the student book club that sponsored our book as the chosen "read". After each author read an excerpt from their chapter, the students did not hesitate to engage with us, asking very thoughtful questions. Students were interested in how the holocaust influenced our choices to share our parent's stories with our own children as well as in forming our career decisions. Two young women in particular noted that they had grown up in families that had experienced trauma, so they could identify very closely with the situations and feelings described in our book. As the topic of antisemitism was raised, Eszter asked the audience, "How many of you have experienced antisemitism since October 7th?" Almost every hand went up. We were grateful to delve further with the students into this very important issue. Several students noted that while they had heard Holocaust survivors speak before, this was the first time they had thought or learned about the perspectives and experiences of the second generation. They shared how meaningful they found our book and our evening time together.