Glendale Unified middle and high school students will once again have an opportunity to hear directly from survivors of the Holocaust from Jan. 23-24. Holocaust survivor speakers will present their life stories to students via Google Meet. The presentations will also be recorded for future viewing. 

One of the speakers, Joseph Alexander, 102, survived Auschwitz and 11 other concentration camps. Another speaker, Gabriela Karin, 94, has been invited to the International Ceremonies at Auschwitz, Poland taking place on Jan. 27. She is the only survivor from Los Angeles who is able to attend.

These very special presentations coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On Jan. 27, 1945 (80 years ago), Soviet soldiers liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. It is estimated that the Nazis deported over 1.3 million people to the Auschwitz complex between 1940 and 1945. Of these, they murdered 1.1 million people. On this annual day of commemoration, GUSD joins nations all over the world in honoring the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and providing educational programs to help prevent future genocides.

Every year, the Glendale Unified Board of Education adopts a resolution in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The resolution includes a commitment that “our community work together to promote human dignity and confront hate whenever and wherever it occurs.” This resolution and the Holocaust survivors’ presentations hold increasing significance given the dramatic rise in anti-Semitism across the nation and in Los Angeles County.