Holocaust Day between Students and Survivors

Kayla Kaufman, who was saved by Raoul Wallenberg when she was only a young girl, shared an evening with students and staff of Hofstra University for Hillel’s Holocaust Commemoration Program.

Ms. Kaufman told her story to an enthusiastic full house and many students and staff members approached her afterwards to tell her how moved they were and how powerful an impact she had on them.

”She was spectacular! Her comments were powerful, eloquent and heartfelt,” said Rabbi Meir Mitelman, Executive Director of Hofstra Hillel, ”Her story is a powerful one, and the lessons she imparts are so important and inspiring.”

Raoul Wallenberg saved Kayla Kaufman’s father from a labor camp and reunited him with his wife and children, who were at the Swedish Red Cross at the time. Kayla vividly recalls the night when two men sent by Wallenberg dressed as Nazi officials came for her family.

Ms. Kaufman also visited students of Yeshiva Har Torah for their Yom Hashoah assembly. A candlelight ceremony followed her presentation.

Each day, the world loses many of the live witnesses who can directly attest to the horrors of the Holocaust. It is of ultmost importance for the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation to expose a young generation of students to Holocaust survivors to preserve their stories and a resource the Foundation gladly provides to schools and other educational institutions.