UN Holocaust Memorial Day 2017

2017-02-06T18:13:08+08:00Tags: , , , , , |

On 23 January 2017, the Hong Kong Holocaust & Tolerance Centre marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a moving, inspiring ceremony at the Community Hall in Sai Ying Pun. Many Jewish and local community members were in attendance, as were more than 30 diplomats and dignitaries, including The Hon. Tung Chee-hwa and The Hon. Donald Tsang, both former Chief Executives of Hong Kong, and Ms Florence Hui, the Under Secretary for Home Affairs of the HKSAR Government. We were honoured that Micha Gelber, an 81-year-old Dutchman who lived through the Holocaust, travelled from the Netherlands to Hong Kong to share his story of survival with us.

Please click here for more photos from our UN Holocaust Memorial Day 2017 event and you can also watch a video of the evening on our Facebook page

Survivor of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp Tours Hong Kong Schools

2017-02-06T17:53:58+08:00Tags: , , , , |

In the beginning of 2017, the HKHTC arranged for Holocaust survivor Mr Micha Gelber to address the following 11 schools across the region: West Island School, Harrow International School, Island School, French International School, Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School, Shatin College, Elsa High School, Creative Secondary School, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, and Li Po Chun United World College.

Accompanied by HKHTC Director of Education Simon Li, Mr Gelber spoke about his experience of how he was kept alive by the Nazis to be used as a potential bargaining chip and managed to survive the Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen camps. In total, around 3,000 students (aged 12-22) were present for Mr Gelber’s talks.

JCC-HKHTC Event with survivor of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

2017-02-06T17:48:50+08:00Tags: , , , |

In our joint event with the Jewish Community Centre on 17 January 2017, Micha Gelber, survivor of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, shared his incredible story of survival during the Holocaust.
ABOUT MICHA GELBER
Micha Gelber was born in Ede near Arnhem, the Netherlands, on 28 September 1935. When Micha was eight years old in 1943, his family was arrested and sent to the Westerbork transit camp. From Westerbork the majority of the Dutch Jewish population were deported to Poland to be exterminated, however Micha fortunately found himself on a list of prisoners who were to be exchanged for German nationals interned by the Allies. In January 1944, Micha and his family were transported to Bergen Belsen, where they were subjected to work in forced labour detachments for 15 months in the “star camp” (Sternlager), which held those on prisoner exchange lists. On 10 April 1945, just five days before the British liberated the camp, the 9-year-old Micha was sent on a train eastwards towards Theresienstadt and endured a two-week transport on the sealed train before being liberated by the advancing Russian army just south of Berlin.

Director of Education Simon Li lectures at local and international schools in Hong Kong

2017-04-06T00:19:12+08:00Tags: , , , |

Simon Li, a Canadian-trained historian who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English, was appointed HKHTC’s Director of Education in 2016. Simon has extensive knowledge about genocide and he previously was Senior Lecturer at a higher education institute in Hong Kong.

In November and December 2016, Simon has already presented Holocaust workshops to hundreds of students at international and local schools in Hong Kong. With Simon’s appointment, HKHTC is increasingly engaged with local Chinese-speaking students, while deepening its work with international schools and students.

Slawomir Grunberg, director of Karski & the Lords of Humanity, speaks at HKU

2017-02-06T17:43:06+08:00Tags: , , , , , |

The November 2016 visit to Hong Kong by Mr Slawomir Grunberg, director of Karski & the Lords of Humanity, was impactful. HKHTC screened this Holocaust documentary at The University of Hong Kong with Mr Grunberg telling the story of Jan Karski, Polish diplomat and resistance fighter, who risked his life to try to prevent the Holocaust. After the screening, the director also described to the audience how he used archival footage, as well as interviews with subjects and Holocaust scholars, to portray the life and work of a Righteous Gentile and an unsung hero.

From L to R: Journalism professor Kaman Lee, Veteran journalist and HKET columnist Susanna Cheung, director of Karski & the Lords of Humanity Slawomir Grunberg, HKHTC Director of Education Simon Li, and Hong Kong Journalists Association’s Donald Gasper

Director of Education lectured at Creative Secondary School

2017-02-06T17:34:08+08:00Tags: , , , , |

This fall, HKHTC Director of Education Simon Li visited Creative Secondary School. Two classes of students from 13 – 14 years benefited from the HKHTC’s visit, which gave an informative, age-appropriate insight into the life of Jewish people before World War II and which presented the students with the most important terminology and vocabulary in both English and Cantonese. The talk also addressed China’s, and in particular Shanghai’s, role in providing refuge for many Jewish people.

After the talk, students’ feedback included: “It was amazing to hear how Shanghai was involved in World War II. I didn’t know!” and “The most inspiring thing for me was to see how one man, Sir Nicholas Winton, saved so many children from the Nazis. It is incredible to see what one man can do!” And a CSS teacher wrote, “A big thank you must go to the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre and in particular to Mr. Simon Li for the interesting and informative experience!”

Dr Erez Pery, scholar and director of The Interrogation, visits Hong Kong

2017-02-06T17:30:57+08:00Tags: , , , , |

In November 2016, HKHTC partnered with the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival (HKJFF) to organize a visit to Hong Kong by Dr Erez Pery, both a scholar and the director of the award-winning film The Interrogation, which explores the life of Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss, the longest serving commander of Auschwitz concentration camp who was awaiting trial in a Polish prison. Dr Pery spoke to the audience, which included high school and college students, as well as local journalists, in an HKHTC-sponsored post-screening talk.

Journalists visited HKHTC Resource Centre

2017-02-06T17:23:43+08:00Tags: , , |

Veteran journalists Cable TV’s Fanny Fung, Next Magazine’s Jophy Sin, a journalist from the ethnic media JB Pun Magar, and the HKU honorary lecturer in journalism Pui-king Chan visited our Resource Centre in Shau Kei Wan in November. HKHTC Director of Education Simon Li introduced our Centre’s works during the tour, along with a discussion of the concepts of genocide and how the Holocaust fits into that.

The 17th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival (19-27 November)

2017-02-06T17:20:03+08:00Tags: , , , |

This fall, we were proud to sponsor the following Holocaust films as part of the 17th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. They were shown at local and international schools as well as universities around Hong Kong:

Karski and the Lords of Humanity  – 72 min
The Eichmann Show – 90 min
Fanny’s Journey – 94 min
Les Hértiers​ – 100 min
A Children’s Song – 16 min
The Interrogation – 95 min

These films have helped students gain a deeper understanding of the issues that arise from the Holocaust.

A Lesson on Life and Peace: The Extraordinary Story of Holocaust Survivor Micha Gelber

2017-02-06T16:19:02+08:00Tags: , , , , |

On January 19, 2017, HKHTC and the Hong Kong Baptist University organized a public event “Lesson on Life and Peace: The Extraordinary Story of Holocaust Survivor Micha Gelber” with Dutch Holocaust survivor Micha Gelber, HKBU professor Emilie Tran, and Simon Li, HKHTC Director of Education.

During the session, Micha recounted the incredible story of his childhood and fight for survival in the face of Nazi occupation during WWII. Our event was attended by a group of many undergraduate and graduate students, local high school students, European diplomats as well as members of the general public.

Please click here for more photos from the HKHTC-HKBU event.

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