The Holocaust Learn & Remember

Join the San Antonio Public Library and the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio for the 13th Annual Holocaust Learn and Remember program series in January 2025.

The 2025 theme of LIBERATION focuses on the stories of the survivors of the concentration camps and the U.S. soldiers who helped to liberate them.  Remembering their stories of resilience and rescue inspires us to promote human dignity and confront hatred whenever and wherever it occurs. 

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed, and seven times sealed.” — Elie Wiesel, Night

 Opening Event 
The Hard Road to Liberation

Thursday, January 9, 2025
7-8 pm
Central Library Auditorium

Speakers:
Dr. Edward Westermann, Professor of History, Texas A&M-San Antonio
Jacqueline Davis, Director, Fort Sam Houston Museum

The survivors of the Flossenbürg concentration camp, and those condemned to its death marches, were liberated by San Antonio’s own U.S. Army 90th Infantry Division from Fort Sam Houston (known as the Tough ‘Ombres). Join us as we learn about this story of bravery and rescue.

 2025 PROGRAM SCHEDULE 
Programs for Adults

Ruth's Story: A Journey of Resilience

This is a virtual program. Registration is required. Registration closes Sat, Jan. 11 at 5pm. Library staff will email the Zoom link for the event separately before the program.

Eleanor Gossen 
Sunday, January 12, 2025
12 - 1 PM

Ruth was a Holocaust survivor who endured unimaginable hardships, from her childhood in Poland to surviving the ghettos, Auschwitz, and forced labor camps. Despite losing her entire family and facing profound trauma, she rebuilt her life, creating a home in America and sharing her story to educate others.

Through her granddaughter’s reflections, we learn about Ruth's courage, her struggles with the lasting effects of the Holocaust, and her enduring legacy of resilience. Her story is a poignant reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the importance of preserving history to prevent future acts of hatred.

In Their Words: Children’s Experiences of Liberation

This is a virtual program. Registration is required. Registration closes Mon, Jan. 13 at 10am. Library staff will email the Zoom link for the event separately before the program.

Reyna Stovall 
Monday, January 13, 2025 
5 - 6 PM

Oral testimony is one way to document history directly from those who experienced it themselves. Using oral history interviews and their transcriptions, this presentation will discuss the experiences of Holocaust survivors who were liberated from various concentration camps as children. How did their experiences differ from adults? What kinds of unique challenges did they face? How were they impacted by their liberation? "In Their Words: Children's Experiences of Liberation" will dive into these questions and more.  

Rose Williams’ Journey to Liberation

Becky Hoag 
Cody Library
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
6 -7 PM

When Rose Sherman Williams was just twelve years old, the Nazis invaded her hometown in Poland. For the next five years, Rose was in various ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz and one of the most despicable camps of all: Bergen-Belsen. But miraculously, despite beatings and starvation, she survived to be liberated.

Becky Hoag, the co-author of Rose Williams’ memoir "Letters to Rose", will share Rose’s story through excerpts from the book. Becky will not only discuss Rose’s liberation from Bergen-Belsen but also her other spiritual and physical liberations during her five years in ghettos and camps. Rose Williams’ story is one of tragedy and resilience, of desperation and hope, of captivity and liberation

In Their Words: Children’s Experiences of Liberation

This is a virtual program. Registration is required. Registration closes Mon, Jan. 13 at 10am. Library staff will email the Zoom link for the event separately before the program.

Reyna Stovall 
Thursday, January 16, 2025 
10 - 11 AM

Oral testimony is one way to document history directly from those who experienced it themselves. Using oral history interviews and their transcriptions, this presentation will discuss the experiences of Holocaust survivors who were liberated from various concentration camps as children. How did their experiences differ from adults? What kinds of unique challenges did they face? How were they impacted by their liberation? "In Their Words: Children's Experiences of Liberation" will dive into these questions and more.  

Liberation and the Displaced Persons Camps

Yair Alan Griver
Parman Library
Sunday, January 19, 2025
2 - 3 PM

Yehuda Meisels was already on an "enemy of the state" list when he was sent on one of the first transports to Auschwitz. This presentation will review what led to his inclusion on the list, his time in Auschwitz, and the miracles that enabled him to survive the camp, the death march, and his rescue by a Texas soldier. It will also cover what came after – how he ended up working with the US Army and the Joint Distribution Committee to help run one of the largest Displaced Persons camps in Germany after the war – and how these experiences affected his later life.

A Soldier’s Story of the Survivors at the Mittenwald Displaced Person Camp

Cantor Seth Ettinger
Mission Library
Thursday, January 23, 2025
10 - 11 AM

The compelling story of a young American GI, Ed Ettinger and of the Mittenwald Displaced Persons Camp in Germany as told by his son, Cantor Seth Ettinger.

 PROGRAM FOR FAMILIES 

Dig Into Your Roots

Sunday, January 12
2-3 pm
Igo Branch Library

Bring the family and explore your roots. Activities to include sharing and preserving stories, family trees, and more.

 CLOSING EVENT 

They Were There: 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auchwitz

Monday, January 27
7- 8 pm 
Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio
12500 NW Military Hwy, 78231

Registration for free tickets for this event is encouraged. To register for free tickets, please click here

For those who were sent through the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, life was a nightmare and survival was a dream. Hear the testimonials of survivors and learn about the legacy left to their descendants.

Thank you to our partners for Holocaust Learn and Remember 2025

We invite you to visit their websites:

Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio

Jewish Federation of San Antonio

San Antonio Public Library Foundation

World Affairs Council of San Antonio