UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Holocaust survivor Irene Weisberg Zisblatt will speak to Penn State students and State College community members at a free event hosted by Penn State Hillel at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Zisblatt was born in 1929 and is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor. She was an inmate in Auschwitz-Birkenau and was part of Dr. Josef Mengele’s experiments. She is most well known for her autobiography, “The Fifth Diamond,” and her testimony in Steven Spielberg’s documentary “The Last Days.”
Each year, Penn State Hillel brings a Holocaust survivor to campus to share his or her story and to offer a firsthand perspective of the Holocaust. This year, Jamie Butler, a junior hospitality and management major, arranged for Zisblatt to speak on campus. This is Butler’s third consecutive year collaborating with Penn State Hillel to bring a Holocaust survivor to the University. Butler, who is Jewish, became interested in Holocaust education and awareness while in high school in New Jersey.
“It’s something that hits home to me, and I’m very passionate to share the survivors’ stories, especially Irene’s. By bringing Holocaust survivors to campus, I can play my role in educating people about the past, and making sure that it never happens again,” Butler said.
Penn State Hillel’s first speaker, David Tuck, drew an overflow crowd of 320 to Kern Building in 2015. The next year, the audience more than tripled to hear Holocaust survivor and Penn State grandmother Sonia Goldstein. This year, in anticipation of an even larger audience, Butler secured Eisenhower Auditorium for the event.
The evening is made possible thanks to Penn State Hillel and many co-sponsors, including: Penn State LGBTQA Student Resource Center, Penn State Panhellenic Council, Penn State Interfraternity Council (IFC), University Park Allocation Committee, the PSJews - Chabad of the Undergrads, Chabad of Penn State - The Rohr Chabad Jewish Center, Association of Residence Halls, and Penn State Jewish Studies.
Doors will open for the event at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are free for students and community members and are available at the Eisenhower Auditorium box office, HUB-Robeson Center information desk, Bryce Jordan Center, and the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center.
For more information on Penn State Hillel, visit www.pennstatehillel.org or email hillel@psu.edu.