Holocaust Survivor, Author Roth to Speak at SU July 21

SALISBURY, MD---Author Irving Roth speaks on his experiences as a Holocaust survivor at Salisbury University as part of the Eastern Shore Writing Project Thursday, July 21.

His talk is at 6 p.m. in Teacher Education and Technology Center Room 153.

Roth is the co-author, with his son, Edward Roth, of Bondi’s Brother, a memoir of his life before, during and after the Holocaust, including his time as a child at Buchenwald and Auschwitz. While he survived the concentration camps, some of his family members were not as fortunate.

Since immigrating to the United States as a teenager in 1947, the Czechoslovakia native has sought to keep alive their memories, as well as those of countless other Holocaust victims.

The director of the Holocaust Resource Center at the Temple Judea of Manhasset, NY, he founded the “Adopt a Survivor” Program in 1998. Through it, he encourages teachers to invite Holocaust survivors to their classrooms, either in person or via videoconferencing, to share their stories with students.

The students, in turn, are expected to become amateur biographers, interviewing the survivors over multiple intensive sessions so that they may continue telling the story of the Holocaust via remembrances of those who lived it.

Roth has been honored with the Spirit of Anne Frank Outstanding Citizen Award, presented by The Anne Frank Center USA of New York to individuals demonstrating outstanding commitment to taking a stand against discrimination.

His talk is sponsored by a grant from the Memorial Library, a Manhattan-based institution focused on Holocaust education; the Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies at SU; and the Eastern Shore Writers Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project. Admission is free and the public is invited.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.