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Annual Days of Remembrance Commemorating the Holocaust May 3

SUNY Plattsburgh will commemorate the Holocaust during its annual Days of Remembrance Tuesday, May 3 at 5 p.m. in the Douglas and Evelyne Skopp Holocaust Memorial Gallery in Feinberg Library.

Dr. Andrew Buckser, dean of the School of Arts and Science, will be featured speaker. Buckser will talk about the rescue of Danish Jews. Senior English major Allison Squires will receive the Douglas R. Skopp Creative Competition on the Theme of the Holocaust award for her short story, “Hide.” She will read from her fact-based story, based in part on the story of Anne Frank. 

“My inspiration for this short story came from taking the class 'Anne Frank: The Adolescent Self' with (Associate Professor of English) Carol Lipszyc last spring,” Squires said. “While the class detailed Frank’s writing and her growth as an artist and young adult during her family’s time in the attic, I found myself fascinated and saddened by the war’s atmosphere in Europe at the time.”

The story is told from the point of view of Miep Gies, secretary to Anne’s father, Otto Frank, who, along with her husband, Jan, help the Frank family and others hide in the attic over Frank’s office.

“The story of such heroes as Miep and Jan Gies … is one of the greatest instances of human kindness I have ever heard of and one that moved and inspired me to illustrate the enormous decision made in one small Amsterdam kitchen,” Squires said.

“Hide” will be archived in SUNY Plattsburgh’s Digital Commons.

In addition, Rabbi Kari Tuling, spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh and Jewish chaplain at SUNY Plattsburgh will offer the closing reflection.

Feinberg Library will host a special Days of Remembrance exhibit, “Rescue and Resistance,” arranged and organized by Elin O’Hara-Gonya, instruction and reference librarian.

Days of Remembrance is sponsored by the Jewish studies program and made possible through the support of the School of Arts and Science and assistance from Library and Information Technology Services. Prizes awarded in the Skopp competition are made available through gifts made to the Plattsburgh College Foundation. For more information, contact Dr. Jonathan Slater, director of the Jewish studies program, at 518-564-2284 or [email protected]. 

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