Hearing the Holocaust
Holocaust Survivor Eric Lipetz Tells His Story during the GenZ Expression Workshop
By Spencer A. Backman, Global News Editor
On March 18, Lynn welcomed Holocaust survivor Eric Lipetz as guest speaker at the annual GenZ Expression Workshop.
In recent years, Lynn University professor Dr. Sindee Kerker has led the GenZ Holocaust Expression Workshop where students hear from a Holocaust survivor and incorporate their experiences into creative work, in which students learn about the horrors of the Holocaust and understand it by bridging the generational gap between GenZ and the survivors of the Holocaust.
“It is important for students to realize that the Holocaust is not only about statistics,” said Kerker. “They should have an emotional attachment to what happened to the six million Jews and the other ‘undesirable’ victims at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators.
”While the event was hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with Lynn’s Center for Citizenship and Civility, students in some Dialogues classes and in the College of Communication and Design also took part.
“It was so inspiring to see how much this man went through; yet… he holds himself (proudly),” said Isabella Gibbs, a junior communication major. “Seeing how much he went through; it’s really inspiring, and it makes me put things into perspective to be grateful for my life.”
Local friends of Lynn also participated to share stories of their families’ connections to the Holocaust with students.
“It’s very important that young students, young people today know what happened because you learn from the past and it’s important to know our history in order to plan our future,” said Claire Press, a local friend of Lynn.
Lipetz has made it his mission to talk to groups and people around the world about his experience in the Holocaust.
“I’ve been talking in New York, I’ve been invited to talk to University of Jerusalem and Haifa, for this coming May, depending on the military situation there. I devote my whole life to this because I want to make changes. There’s nothing better than peace, and nothing worse than war,” said Lipetz.
