Holocaust survivor to speak on campus

Holocaust survivor Werner Gellert will be speaking on campus today at 3:30 p.m. about his experiences fleeing Nazi Germany.

UNM's History Undergraduate Association invited Werner, the president and founder of New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Study Center, to speak in the History Commons, which is on the first floor of Mesa Vista Hall.

Rebecca Perez, president of the Undergraduate History Association, said Werner was a Jew in Nazi Germany and was 13 years old during "Kristallnacht," which translates to "Night of Crystals." The term refers to the night of Nov. 9, 1938, when Nazis instigated widespread attacks on Jewish synagogues, businesses and homes throughout Germany. The Nazis said it was retaliation for the assassination of Ernst vom Rath, secretary to the German legation in Paris, by a Jewish protestor, Herschel Grynszpan, whose parents were being forcibly evicted.

"When we talked to Mr. Gellert about speaking to our group, he agreed and said he would talk about his experiences," Perez said. "He told me that after `Kristallnacht,' he knew he had to get out, but his parents did not want to leave because they thought that the night of damage was the worst the violence against Jews would get and the worst had passed. He convinced them to leave and they made it to China, where his family stayed for the remainder of the war."

Perez said that Gellert wants to share his experience with students because he does not think they understand the significance of what happened.

"He knows about the incident last semester where a male student taped a swastika to another student's car and is concerned that people don't know what these symbols really mean," she said. "He wants to tell people that these are more than just symbols of power - they're symbols of hate."

New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Study Center, 415 Central Ave. N.W., opened in January and is not limited to the Jewish Holocaust and chronicles other examples of genocide throughout history.

"He also is really excited about talking to students about other areas his center covers and how they can learn more about these terrible issues," Perez said.

UNM Professor Noel Pugach, who teaches a course on the history of Holocaust, will be introducing Gellert and will offer a historical perspective of what was going on when Gellert was in Germany.

Call 247-0606 more information about the New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Study Center.