Published on January 08, 2025
The 13th annual program series is presented by San Antonio Public Library and the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO (January 8, 2025) – San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) and The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio (HMMSA) present the 13th annual The Holocaust Learn & Remember series this January. Each year, SAPL and the HMMSA commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27) with this series dedicated to honoring and remembering the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Each year the series is organized around a specific theme to examine the memory and continued impact of the Holocaust through different perspectives and lenses.
This year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. To mark this anniversary, the 2025 Holocaust Learn & Remember theme of Liberation focuses programs on the stories of the survivors of concentration camps and the U.S. soldiers who helped to liberate them. Programs include accounts of individual liberation from the family members of Holocaust survivors and a powerful closing program on January 27 at the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio (12500 NW Military Highway, 78231), presented through the words and descendants of those who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp.
This year, for the first time, the Library will also offer a family-friendly way to engage with the past through a program called “Dig Into Your Roots” at the Igo Branch Library on January 12. Activities will include sharing and preserving stories, learning about family trees, and more.
In addition to programs presented by historians and Holocaust experts, a traveling exhibit will be on display at four Library locations throughout the month of January. “The Voices of Liberation: Holocaust Stories of Freedom and Survival” will be on display from January 7-16 at the Cody and Schaefer Branch Libraries. The exhibition will then travel to the Mission and Parman Branch Libraries from January 19-31.
Visit the SAPL website for more information on the series, exhibition, and closing event. For more about the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio, visit the museum’s website.
Complete Program Listing
Opening Event | The Hard Road to Liberation
- Central Library Auditorium | 600 Soledad St, 78205
- Thursday, January 9, 2025
- 6:15 p.m.: Opening Remarks
- 7 p.m.: Presentation
The survivors of the Flossenbürg concentration camp, and those condemned to its death marches, were liberated by San Antonio’s own U.S. Army 90th Infantry Division from Fort Sam Houston (known as the Tough ‘Ombres). Join us as we learn about this story of bravery and rescue. Presented by Dr. Edward Westermann and Jacqueline Davis.
Ruth’s Story: Journey of Resilience
- Online | Registration Full – Recording will be posted to SAPL YouTube
- Sunday, January 12, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m.
Ruth was a Holocaust survivor who endured unimaginable hardships, from her childhood in Poland to surviving the ghettos, Auschwitz, and forced labor camps. Despite losing her entire family and facing profound trauma, she rebuilt her life, creating a home in America and sharing her story to educate others.
Through her granddaughter’s reflections, we learn about Ruth’s courage, her struggles with the lasting effects of the Holocaust, and her enduring legacy of resilience. Her story is a poignant reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the importance of preserving history to prevent future acts of hatred. Presented by Eleanor Gossen
Family Program: Dig Into Your Roots
- Igo Branch Library
- Sunday, January 12, 2025, 2-3 p.m.
Bring the family and explore your roots. Activities will include sharing and preserving stories, family trees, and more.
In Their Words: Children’s Experiences of Liberation
Oral testimony is one way to document history directly from those who experienced it themselves. Using oral history interviews and their transcriptions, this presentation will discuss the experiences of Holocaust survivors who were liberated from various concentration camps as children. How did their experiences differ from adults? What kinds of unique challenges did they face? How were they impacted by their liberation? “In Their Words: Children’s Experiences of Liberation” will dive into these questions and more. Presented by Reyna Stovall.
Rose Williams’ Journey to Liberation
- Cody Branch Library
- Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 6 – 7 p.m.
When Rose Sherman Williams was just twelve years old, the Nazis invaded her hometown in Poland. For the next five years, Rose was in various ghettos and concentration camps, including Auschwitz and one of the most despicable camps of all: Bergen-Belsen. But miraculously, despite beatings and starvation, she survived to be liberated.
Becky Hoag, the co-author of Rose Williams’ memoir “Letters to Rose”, will share Rose’s story through excerpts from the book. Becky will not only discuss Rose’s liberation from Bergen-Belsen but also her other spiritual and physical liberations during her five years in ghettos and camps. Rose Williams’ story is one of tragedy and resilience, of desperation and hope, of captivity and liberation. Presented by Becky Hoag.
Liberation and the Displaced Persons Camps
- Parman Branch Library at Stone Oak
- Sunday, January 19, 2025, 2 – 3 p.m.
Yehuda Meisels was already on an “enemy of the state” list when he was sent on one of the first transports to Auschwitz. This presentation will review what led to his inclusion on the list, his time in Auschwitz, and the miracles that enabled him to survive the camp, the death march, and his rescue by a Texas soldier. It will also cover what came after – how he ended up working with the US Army and the Joint Distribution Committee to help run one of the largest Displaced Persons camps in Germany after the war – and how these experiences affected his later life. Presented by Yair Alan Griver.
A Soldier’s Story of the Survivors at the Mittenwald Displaced Persons Camp
- Mission Branch Library
- Thursday, January 23, 2025, 10 – 11 a.m.
The compelling story of a young American GI, Ed Ettinger, who participated in the liberation of the Mittenwald Displaced Persons Camp in Germany as told by his grandson. Presented by Cantor Seth Ettinger.
Closing Event | They Were There: 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auchwitz
- Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio, 12500 NW Military Hwy, 78231
- Monday, January 27, 2025, 7 – 8 p.m.
For those who were sent through the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, life was a nightmare and survival a dream. Hear the testimonials of survivors and learn about the legacy left to their descendants. Registration for free tickets for this event is encouraged. Register online at the HMMSA website.
