San Antonio Public Library and The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio present the 10th annual "The Holocaust: Learn and Remember" series now through Jan. 27.
Each year, SAPL commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day, set for Jan. 27, with a monthlong series dedicated to honoring and remembering the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, according to a press release.
This year, speaking programs include presentations by scholars, historians, authors, and family members of Holocaust survivors. Some programs will be offered in-person while others will be available online.
The 2022 Learn & Remember series theme, “Immigration and Refugees,” focuses on the experiences of those who escaped persecution by fleeing to other parts of the world as immigrants or refugees.
All events are free and open to the public. Some scheduled in-person events include the following.
Ongoing through Jan. 30: Westfall Branch Library is hosting “Displaced Persons Camps: Rebuilding Culture and Community in the Aftermath of WWII.” It is an exhibit that documents life for Jews who lived in camps in Germany, Austria and Italy during the Holocaust and who survived to build life anew postwar. 6111 Rosedale Court. 210-207-9220. https://guides.mysapl.org/holocaustlearnandremember#s-lg-box-27904279
Jan. 11: There will be a presentation describing survival stories of Jewish refugees during World War II. 4-5 p.m. Thousand Oaks Library, 4618 Thousand Oaks Drive. 210-207-9190.
Jan. 18: Francis Galan, a history professor at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, will talk about the history of Sephardic Jews, who suffered from persecution in and expulsion from Spain in the 15th century. 6-7 p.m. Central Library, 600 Soledad St. 210-207-2500.
Jan. 19: Roger Barnes, a sociology professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, will talk about the MS St. Louis, a passenger ship that in 1939 carried more than 900 people, most of them Jewish, seeking sanctuary from the Nazi regime. 1-2 p.m. Cody Library, 11441 Vance Jackson Road. (Virtual viewing option also available). 210-207-9100. https://tinyurl.com/5dkrfczf
Additionally, SAPL officials said free take-and-make activity kits are available to students at all SAPL library branches, beginning Jan. 18, while supplies last.
This year’s closing program features Dan Ottenheimer, son of Holocaust survivor Fritz Ottenheimer who escaped Nazi Germany only to return to Germany in 1944 as a member of the U.S. Army. The program will be presented via Zoom at 6 p.m. January 27.
Visit mysapl.org/holocaust for more information on the series and exhibition.
