Families of Holocaust survivors and liberator come together during panel discussion, exhibition

Historic Columbia, the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission (CHEC), the South Carolina State Museum (SCSM), and the City of Columbia will sponsor a special panel discussion, “Confronting the Holocaust…and the Aftermath,” on Sunday, April 3, at the South Carolina State Museum in the Gervais Street Room at 2:00 p.m. The event is free to the public and light refreshments will be served.

The panel will feature Dr. Lilly Filler, Dr. Henry Miller, and Mr. Henry H. Goldberg, all representing families of Holocaust survivors. Major T. Moffatt Burriss, a liberator of concentration camps, will join them. The discussion, moderated by Robin Waites, executive director of Historic Columbia, will focus on the personal experiences of the survivors, the eyewitness account of the liberator, and the lessons the Holocaust should teach.

“We should never let the rhetoric of hatred or fear guide us,” says Dr. Filler, CHEC co-chair. “We are the family of mankind and there is no place for apathy or indifference. To paraphrase a quote attributed to British Edmund Burke, ‘For evil to triumph, it is only necessary for good men (and women) to do nothing.’ The lesson in teaching the Holocaust is to remember.Please join us in educating others about this dark time in the 20th Century.”

This presentation is associated with Historic Columbia’s Columbia Jewish Heritage Initiative, a multi-discipline project documenting as well as providing access to and awareness of local Jewish history, sponsored by Central Carolina Community Foundation, City of Columbia, and SC Humanities.

Holocaust Remembered, a unique exhibition memorializing the victims of the Holocaust and honoring the South Carolina survivors and liberators by telling their personal stories, is presented by CHEC each spring. This year the exhibition is on view at SCSM (March 19– April 16) and The Kahn Jewish Community Center (April 18–May 8).

Over the past 5 years, approximately 4,000 school age children have viewed the exhibition, as well as given the opportunity to hear personal testimonies from survivors. Private tours are encouraged and are available for schools and all other interested parties.

For more information, visit historiccolumbia.org

About Historic Columbia

In November 1961, a small group of individuals intent on saving the Ainsley Hall House from demolition officially incorporated as the Historic Columbia Foundation. Over the next five decades the organization, which was founded on the premise of preservation and education, would take on the stewardship of seven historic properties in Richland County. Today, the organization serves as a model for local preservation efforts and interpretation of local history. Visit historiccolumbia.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for more details.