Recently, three
St. Rita students, along with Campus Minister Bro. Jerome Sysko,
O.S.A., attended an event at the Spertus Institute of Jewish
Studies in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event was
organized by the city of Chicago and the Mayor’s Office of Special
Events.
A proclamation
issued by Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that May 2, 2008 would
be Holocaust Remembrance Day in Chicago, “in memory of the victims
of the Holocaust and in honor of the survivors, and to encourage
all citizens to overcome intolerance and indifference through
learning and remembrance.”
St. Rita students
Ben Johnson ‘08 (Byrne Elementary School), Tom Bukowski ‘08 (Queen
of Martyrs), and Mike Gritzenbach ‘11 (Hamlin Upper Grade Center)
were in attendance at the April 17 event, and were moved and
informed by presentations from various authorities on the history
of the Holocaust. The night was emceed by Ms. Jill Weinberg,
Regional Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and
included remarks from Dr. Howard A. Sulkin, President & CEO of the
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, The Honorable Barukh Binah,
Consul General of Israel, and Mr. Richard S. Hirschhaut, Executive
Director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
The centerpiece
of the evening’s emotional content, however, was provided by a
keynote address from Ms. Marguerite Mishkin, who recounted her own
harrowing experience as a young child caught up in the Holocaust.
Born to Jewish parents in Belgium in 1941, Marguerite was a hidden
child of the Holocaust. Her father was taken to Auschwitz where
he died. Marguerite and her older sister Annette were taken by
their mother to members of the Belgian resistance movement, and
were taken in by the Frans family, who kept the girls in hiding
until the end of the war. The girls’ mother was able to visit
them periodically until July, 1944 when she was captured and put
on the final train of prisoners to Auschwitz, where she died.
Unable to stay
with the Frans family after the war, the Mishkin sisters spent
four years in various orphanages, until they departed on a train
to Israel in 1949. They were halted though, and taken by
policemen, though the reason was that they were to be taken to
America and adopted by a Chicago rabbi. Life became more stable
for the sisters once they were in America, and Marguerite
graduated from Roosevelt University, became a teacher, and earned
graduate degrees from Northeastern Illinois University and Loyola
University in Chicago. Though her sister is now deceased, she
leaves behind a legacy of five children and 21 grandchildren.
Marguerite is retired now, but often speaks on the Holocaust to
schools, colleges, and community groups.
When asked about
the impact of his experience at the Spertus Institute, St. Rita
senior Ben Johnson said, “It was a somber atmosphere, as everyone
listened to Ms. Mishkin’s story and the other speakers’ remarks.
I think it’s important for people of this generation not to forget
what happened to the Jewish people.”
Front Photo: St.
Rita students Ben Johnson ‘08 (Byrne Elementary School), Mike
Gritzenbach ‘11 (Hamlin Upper Grade Center), and Tom Bukowski ‘08
(Queen of Martyrs) attended a luncheon for Holocaust Remembrance
Day held at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
Photo: Marguerite
Mishkin, a Holocaust survivor, lights a candle during a ceremony
proclaiming May 2, 2008 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Chicago.
She gave the evening’s keynote address.
