KINGSTON, R.I. – April 5, 2023 – On Tuesday, April 18, the University of Rhode Island will host a talk by 95-year-old Holocaust survivor Alice Eichenbaum at URI’s Swan Hall Auditorium. The lecture, sponsored by URI Hillel, is part of a series of events to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yom HaShoah begins the evening of April 17 and marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. The event, which begins at 5 p.m., is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. Registration is requested.

Eichenbaum was born in Vienna, Austria in 1928, but grew up and attended school in Sofia, Bulgaria – until shortly after Hitler marched into Bulgaria in 1941. She and her family, along with countless others, were expelled from Sofia to a Jewish ghetto along the Turkish border where they remained for a year and a half. Eichenbaum will share their stories of survival and how she and her late husband Raymond, ‘60 a survivor of Auschwitz, made new lives in the United States. She met her husband, a proud URI alumnus, while studying chemistry in Austria following World War II. They went on to settle and raise a family in Rhode Island. Together, the Eichenbaums and other survivors helped found the Rhode Island Holocaust Museum, now the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center.

Molly Stogner, a student from Westfield, New Jersey, who has been involved in organizing Eichenbaum’s visit said, “It’s been a privilege to work on this year’s events. Continuing to preserve, honor, talk and educate about what happened during the Holocaust is very important and is something that is very close to my heart. Growing up Jewish, being in a very Jewish family, it feels good to be able to celebrate and be proud of my Judaism.”

Also scheduled as part of this year’s observance is a “Walk to Remember.” The walk will begin with opening remarks by President Marc Parlange at 5:15 p.m. on April 17 outside of URI Hillel, 6 Quarry Road, and will proceed to the Multicultural Student Services Center, 74 Lower College Road, for remarks by MSSC Director Jean Nsabumuremyi before continuing toward the library, past Hillel’s annual “Field of Flags” exhibit,  and circling the quadrangle before returning to the center for closing remarks. The event will ceremonially end when the Davis Hall bell chimes six times, symbolizing the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Student organizers noted the importance of events that share, preserve and honor the history of the Holocaust – especially in light of what seems to be a growing wave of hate and antisemitism in the United States.

“Antisemitism is on the rise in the U.S. but so is pretty much every other form of bigotry – racism, xenophobia, phobias against the LGBTQ community – so it’s important to educate,” said Tristan Harrison, a sophomore from Windsor, Connecticut. “A big part of these events is also about creating a sense of community, bringing different organizations together to show that we are one united group against any form of hatred – that we have a community we can lean on.”

Daniel Groysman, a junior from Middleton, Massachusetts, echoed that sentiment, recounting a recent conference he attended at Gillette Stadium, which drew about 250 student leaders from 70 different campuses. “I have heard stories of students being vilified on other campuses just for being Jewish,” he said. “With the rise of antisemitism we are seeing, the most dangerous part is not necessarily direct attacks – but ignorance. Some people just don’t know. We have the means on this campus to educate so it’s up to us to take that initiative and – instead of fighting one another – to educate, give people the facts and make them aware.”

On April 16, Good Deeds Day, all members of the community are invited to gather on Hammerschlag Mall at approximately 1:15 p.m. for the planting of Hillel’s annual “Field of Flags” exhibit. The exhibit remembers the 11 million victims of the Nazi Holocaust, with each of its 2,400 flags representing 5,000 lives lost, including Jews, who are represented by yellow flags. Soviets, Poles, the disabled, homosexuals, and other groups targeted by the Nazis are represented by red, orange, white, purple, blue and green flags. Each year since 2006, Hillel students have planted a Field of Flags in memory of Holocaust victims.

“As a Holocaust Legacy Fellow in part of the last generation to know survivors of the Holocaust, it is my mission to preserve and perpetuate the memories and lessons of the Holocaust for future generations,” said Groysman. The display is a striking visual reminder for the University community of the Holocaust while underscoring the need to remain vigilant in the face of present-day hatred and discrimination.

While the students agree the University of Rhode Island campus is somewhat insulated, they acknowledge the rise of antisemitism across the country and on social media. Harrison, who serves as president of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity on campus, says their national leadership has encouraged them to be aware of social chatter.

Stogner, whose mother and sister both teach at synagogues in New Jersey, which at one point faced an increase in threats, said, “Antisemitism isn’t just this thing that is in the past. It is now. So, taking these little steps to educate, to remember – to just do anything in our power to spread the word of all of this is just… it’s a step in the right direction.”

Eichenbaum’s visit is made possible by the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center in Providence and is co-sponsored by the URI Chaplains Association, the Multicultural Student Services Center, the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, and URI Dining Services.