Holocaust Survivor Ruth Fishman Speaks at 14th Annual Holocaust Remembrance
The ceremony, free and open to the public, is Wednesday, April 19 at 3 p.m. in the Bucknall Theater in Dodds Hall.
Ruth Fishman. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Jewish Civilization at the University
of Hartford.
Holocaust survivor Ruth Fishman, of West Hartford, will be the keynote speaker at
the University of New Haven’s 14th annual Holocaust Remembrance Event on Wednesday,
April 19th at 3 p.m. in the Bucknall Theater in Dodds Hall.
The ceremony, free and open to the public, will feature the reading of names of persons
who perished in the Holocaust and who have a relationship to a member of the University.
The ceremony will include a rendition of the poem, "The Butterfly" by Pavel Friedman,
delivered by students in the theatre department. Friedman was a prisoner at Theresienstadt,
a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia near Prague, where Fishman was also held.
"The event has found resonance because it affords a unique opportunity for our students
to get clear lessons on the roots of genocide and the importance of tolerance and
understanding as bedrocks for a peaceful society," said Ira Kleinfeld, professor emeritus of
engineering and retired associate provost.
Its primary purpose is to honor and memorialize the millions of Jews and others who
were targeted and murdered during the Holocaust. In today’s climate, such lessons
are increasingly important.
Ruth Lichtenstern Fishman was born in Cologne, Germany, on July 17, 1936, but moved
with her family to Amsterdam. She was with her family at Theresienstadt when it was
liberated by Soviet troops on May 9, 1945. She moved to the United States when she
was 18.
Founded on the campus of Yale University in 1920, the University of New Haven is a
private, educational institution which is comprised of five colleges that provide
career-focused education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, fine arts, business,
engineering, and public safety and service. The University is a diverse and vibrant
community of more than 6,800 students, including 1,800 graduate students and more
than 5,000 undergraduates.