LCW Hosts Conversation Between Holocaust Survivor and Granddaughter
On Yom HaShoah, thoughts turn to the next generation.
“The scene was surreal: a line of black shadows trudging through the snowy darkness,” began Orly Gross, LCW ’15, to a hushed audience of LCW women as she described her experience accompanying her grandfather, a survivor, to Auschwitz this past year. “It was eerily reminiscent of an earlier march, 70 years prior,” continued Orly, “but last time they were surrounded by Germans, clubs, barking dogs. This time, each person held a flickering candle.”
Lander College for Women—The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School (LCW) recently hosted a conversation between Orly Gross, LCW ’15, and her grandfather, Baruch Gross, an Auschwitz survivor. Moderated by LCW Dean Dr. Marian Stoltz-Loike, the talk covered Baruch Gross’s experience during the Holocaust; Orly Gross’s observations on the importance of later generations listening to survivors’ testimonies firsthand; and the duo’s trip to Poland earlier this year in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the camp’s liberation—a trip which prompted the student to later publish an article about her experience. The grandfather-granddaughter team also took questions from the audience at the end of the program.
Orly and her grandfather spoke again later that evening for the “Commemorating Yom HaShoah: A 70-Year Perspective” program hosted by Touro College.
