In honor of Yom HaShoah 2019 and in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the War Refugee Board, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation hosted an event called “U.S. Efforts to Save Jews During the Holocaust,” on Sunday May 5. Approximately 350 community members were in attendance.
In addition to remarks by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, Gretchen Skidmore, director of education initiatives at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., gave the keynote address, as the theme of the evening was inspired by the museum’s newest exhibit called “Americans and the Holocaust.”
A statement from the Baltimore Jewish Council, one of seven groups that sponsored the event, explained that during a candle-lighting ceremony, three of the six candles were lit by Simon Kalderon, Flora Kalderon Friedman and Sonya Setren, all members of the 1,000 Europeans brought over to the United States and housed in an army camp in Oswego, New York.
Memorial tributes were made for Holocaust survivor Rubin Sztajer and Andy Klein, a philanthropist and funder of Holocaust education programs who was killed in a car accident in March. Another tribute was had for Uta Larky, a retiring professor from Goucher College who created the college course, “Oral Histories of the Holocaust.” During the course, Goucher students interviewed survivors and presented their stories at local schools and organized events.
