Holocaust survivors to speak April 12

Two surviving children of the Holocaust, Dr. Norbert Bikales and Mrs. Gerda Bikales, will speak on the campus of Furman University Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. in Younts Conference Center. The couple will share their experiences as Jewish children who came of age in France during World War II. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Their talk, “Triumph of the Soul: Two Stories of Holocaust Survival,” is free and open to the public, and is part of Furman’s Cultural Life Program. The talk is presented by the Greenville Jewish Federation with support from Furman University Department of History, BMW Manufacturing Co., SC Council on the Holocaust, SC Humanities, and Christ Church Episcopal School.

Gerda between father and mother, Breslau, Germany 1938. Swastika looms in background.

The penalty for aiding Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe amounted to certain death. Yet some non-Jews were unwilling to sit idly by while Jewish friends, neighbors, and often strangers, were deported to unknown destinations, never to be heard from again. These courageous individuals chose to shelter, feed, and protect endangered Jews at great peril to themselves and their families.

The Bikaleses will describe the individuals and organizations whose actions allowed them and countless others to survive. The Furman talk is one of four presentations the Bikaleses will make during their week-long visit to Greenville.

For more information, contact the Furman News and Media Relations Office at (864) 294-3107. Or contact Amy Vaz with the Greenville Jewish Federation at (864) 382-9383, or email Programs@JewishGreenville.org.