Hidden Children and the Holocaust at MTSU -- John Koenigsberg

Holocaust survivors who were forced to spend their childhood years in hiding shared some of their wisdom with middle school and high school students Tuesday, Oct. 15, at MTSU.

John Koenigsberg told how they were spirited away from their birth families and placed with other families as Nazi Germany sought to exterminate Jews throughout occupied Europe.

The Tennessee Holocaust Commission conducted the gathering as part of the university's Biennial International Holocaust Studies Conference, which continues through Friday, Oct. 18.

Koenigsberg praised his parents, both of whom worked at a Jewish hospital in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for giving up their only child when he was five-and-a-half years old.

His parents ensured his safety by telling the Gestapo he was ill. Koenigsberg was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent a fake appendectomy. Later, he was placed with a Catholic family miles away in the province of Limberg, where he pretended to be the family's sickly cousin.

Koenigsberg worked to ensure that the family who concealed his true identity received the honor of "Righteous Among Nations," the highest honor Israel bestows on non-Jews.

For conference information, contact Dr. Nancy Rupprecht at 615-898-2645 or holocaust.studies@mtsu.edu, or Dr. Elyce Helford at 615-898-5961 or elyce.helford@mtsu.edu. You also can visit www.mtsu.edu/holocaust_studies.

Видео Hidden Children and the Holocaust at MTSU -- John Koenigsberg канала MTSU