Holocaust Survivor Alfred Münzer to Visit

Black River Technical College, in cooperation with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will be hosting its 8th Holocaust Survivor visit October 23-24, 2012.  Presentations by Alfred Münzer will be held in the Randolph County Development Center at 9:30 a.m. on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The presentations are made possible by funding from the BRTC Foundation, First National Bank of Walnut Ridge, Pocahontas, Hoxie and Bono, IBERIABANK, Integrity 1st Bank, and by Mike and Barbara Dunn.

Mr. Münzer will talk about the difficult decisions his parents, Dutch Jews, had to make in the wake of the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940.  The audience will learn about the moral dilemmas confronting ordinary Dutch non-Jewish citizens and the choices they sometimes made.

Nearly 1700 students from schools around Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri have already made plans to attend, according to Project Specialist Dina Hufstedler.  The presentations are free and open to the public, but those who wish to bring a school group to either daytime presentation should contact Hufstedler at 870-248-4000, ext. 4187, to be sure space is available.  Reservations are not necessary for those who wish to attend the Tuesday evening presentation.

“We can read and study extensively in an attempt to understand this watershed event in human history, and we should do so,” said Dr. Jan Ziegler, BRTC’s VP for Development and instructor of The Holocaust course.  “But no matter how many books we read, or how much video footage we view, nothing can bring the enlightenment we gain when we hear firsthand from someone who was there, someone who lived the experience we call the Holocaust.  The opportunity to do this is quickly coming to an end, and so we are extremely fortunate here at BRTC to meet Holocaust Survivor Alfred Münzer and to hear his story.”

An added feature of the Survivor Series this year will be a presentation for area Law Enforcement officials and students of BRTC’s Law Enforcement Training Academy.  Sarah Campbell, Program Coordinator of Law, Justice and Society Initiatives at USHMM, will be presenting on “Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust.”  This presentation will take place Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m., also in the Randolph County Development Center.  Mr. Münzer will be on hand to talk to participants.  For more information on the law enforcement presentation, contact LETA Director Steve Shults at 870-248-4000, ext. 4194.