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This Program Is Made Possible Through A Generous Contribution From The

Program: Witness to the Holocaust

In this very personal program, Dr. Walter Ziffer informs his audience of the difficulties of surviving during the German genocide known as the Holocaust and of the importance of maintaining vigilance so as to prevent a repeat of this atrocity. The program also counteracts contemporary revisionist distortions of the Holocaust. As a Jew and a native of Czechoslovakia, Ziffer shares first-hand experiences of his town’s invasion by German Nazi troops on September 1, 1939, the first day of World War II, the two years following the occupation, deportation in June 1942, being conscripted into forced labor, which led to the deaths of most of his family members, and his induction into the German concentration camp empire. This is also the story of his first love—a love decimated by Nazi brutality which has left a mark that persists to this day. Using accounts from his own experiences, Ziffer describes the treatment received by prisoners, liberation by the Soviet army, and beginning a new life after the war.

The entire community is invited to join the Sandhills Jewish Congregation, which meets at Temple Beth Shalom in Foxfire, NC in their observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday afternoon, May 4 at 4:00 PM. The event will begin with a brief memorial service, followed by guest speaker Dr. Walter Ziffer presenting a program titled Witness to the Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Day is a time for remembrance, education, and advocacy on behalf of the six million Jews, and five million non-Jews throughout Europe, who were killed by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945. It is a day that has been set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for reminding everyone of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred and indifference reign.

Walter Ziffer is a Holocaust survivor who was born into a German-speaking Jewish family, converted from Judaism to Christianity, became an ordained Christian pastor and professor in Christian seminaries, and then returned to Judaism. He is an adjunct Professor in the Department of Philosophy an Religion at Mars Hill College, as well as a freelance writer and author.

This presentation is made possible through a grant from the NC Humanities Council Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. The NC Humanities Council is a nonprofit foundation and state affiliate of the national Endowment for the Humanities.

We welcome the public to join us in observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 4 at 4 PM at Temple Beth Shalom, at the corner of Jackson Springs Rd and Hoffman Rd, Foxfire. For more information call: (910) 673-5224.