Monday, May 7 was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. In a post-Oct. 7 world facing a rise in antisemitism and ignorance about the Holocaust, the day carried even more weight than usual. 

After the first period on Monday, the entire high school met in the gym for a Tekes in which students heard from learning lab specialist Leora Klein. 

Klein is the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors. In a beautiful and emotionally-stirring presentation, she described her grandmother’s experiences and the atrocities she endured. 

Klein explained the need to keep these stories alive. She told the community that she is a founding member of a nonprofit organization called 3GNY, which creates a safe space for grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to share stories and experiences. 3GNY also focuses on keeping this generation’s grandparents’ stories alive as time passes and survivors die.  

Sophomore Caleb Creizman said, “I thought the way she told her story and how she used her experience [with her grandparents] to create 3GNY was really meaningful. I thought it was really inspiring that not only did she have the courage to tell her own grandmother’s story, but to also ensure that other people’s stories are preserved so that as an entire community we will never forget.”