2015 Holocaust Survivor Visit

Black River Technical College, in cooperation with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will host Holocaust survivor Manny Mandel for three presentations October 27-28.

Mandel will be speaking at 9:30 a.m. both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, and 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening.  All presentations will be held in the Randolph County Development Center auditorium on the BRTC Pocahontas Campus.

According to the USHMM website, Emanuel (Manny) Mandel was born on May 8, 1936 in Riga, Latvia.  Manny’s father accepted a position as a Jewish chief cantor in Budapest and the family returned to Hungary.

Because of the anti-Jewish laws which had been imposed since 1933, Manny’s father was very protective of Manny.  In March 1944 after the Germans occupied Budapest, 7-year-old Manny and his family were part of a group of 1600 Jews whom Adolf Eichmann offered to the Allies in exchange for materials.  The group had been promised to be sent to Switzerland, but complications in the agreement found the Jews on a train for Bergen-Belsen camp.  Finally, Manny and his family were transported in late 1944 via Nazi transport to Switzerland.

In 1945, Manny and his mother emigrated to Palestine.  He moved to the U.S. in 1949.

The presentations are free and open to the public.  Sponsors of the event include SEAS Project of the BRTC Foundation; Mike and Barbara Dunn; First National Bank of Walnut Ridge, Hoxie, Pocahontas, and Bono; Dean and Brenda Gillogly; and Integrity First Bank.

For more information or to schedule a group contact Jessica Bailey at (870) 248-4189.