Telling the tale
Holocaust survivor to share her story Sept. 13

It’s a history lesson the world should never forget.

And as a special Meridian Community College Arts & Letters Series presentation, community residents can hear first-hand of the courage during some of the darkest days of World War II from a woman who lived through the horror.

Ann Jaffe, a Holocaust survivor from Wilmington, Del., will lecture on Monday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. in McCain Theater, Ivy Hall. Admission is free of charge.

Jaffe has traveled throughout the country telling her story of when she was 10 years old and when her Jewish family was first targeted in Nazi-controlled Poland for extermination during the Holocaust.

"We heard the stories coming out of Germany (of the Nazi horrors), but we never thought it would be as bad as it was," said Jaffe, now in her late 70s.

When the Germans took control of her small town of 1,200 people, hate overtook the population. The citizen militias were responsible for enacting Nazi orders in small towns and communities.

"People ask why we (the Jewish community) did not fight back or escape," said Jaffe. "If they came and you weren't present, 10 people would be held hostage, eventually killed if you were not found."

When the time came for her family to be killed, luck was on their side. Her mother was spared, along with her family, because she was a regarded seamstress.

For more information about this presentation, contact Leia Hill at MCC at 601-484-8696.