Join the JCC East Bay and the JFCS Holocaust Center, William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau for a valuable opportunity to hear from and engage with local Holocaust Survivor Ralph S., and learning the importance of remembering, honoring, and commemorating. This event is for teens and their parents.
We will begin with an interview with Ralph, during which he will share his story and wisdom with us. After the interview, there will be an open Q&A session, where teens and parents will have the opportunity to engage with Ralph and learn more about his life and experiences.
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Ralph was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1931 to a Polish father and a mother whose family had lived in Dresden for 150 years.
At the age of 7½, he was sent alone on a Kindertransport to England to escape the Holocaust and was later evacuated to the English countryside during the war. Ralph studied at the London School of Economics before immigrating to the United States at 27. He moved to California in 1962 and worked in public agency real estate, including seven years with BART, until his retirement in 1997.
Now residing in Oakland, Ralph shares his Holocaust experiences as a member of the JFCS Holocaust Center’s William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau, speaking in schools and presenting the Oscar-winning documentary, Into the Arms of Strangers. He has returned to Germany several times to speak at schools in Dresden and Heidelberg.
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Our interview and discussion with Ralph are part of the annual Zikaron BaSalon (Remembrances in the Living Room) program. This program commemorates the Holocaust through intimate gatherings that allow for meaningful conversations and storytelling, passing the torch from large ceremonies to conversations and stories told in more intimate, meaningful spaces.
This event is the second in a series of Holocaust remembrance programs for teens and parents presented in partnership with The JFCS Holocaust Center. If you are viewing this page before March 25, 2025, we highly encourage you to join us for the first event: I Am Not: Holocaust Education for Teens and Parents.
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This program is proudly supported by the Israel Engagement Fund: A JCC Association of North America Program Accelerator and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.