Forgive But Never Forget: Holocaust Remembrance Day Program

In acknowledgement of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Winston & Strawn’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee recently hosted a webinar titled “Forgive But Never Forget: Holocaust Remembrance Day Program.” The powerful session featured Holocaust survivor Ruth Steinfeld who shared her remarkable life story.

As children, Ruth and her sister escaped death in Nazi Germany and were taken to France. There, they lived in a series of safehouses for 6 years with the help of the French underground group, the Children’s Aid Society. The siblings later moved to the United States to live with their grandfather. When he passed away in 1946, Ruth and her sister moved to Houston where they made a permanent home.

It wasn’t until 1981 when Ruth and her sister attended the World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Israel that she was able to accept her past. There, she found a “new excitement and sense of belonging” among the 6,000 attendees. “We were celebrating being alive,” Ruth said.

Ruth went on to co-found the Holocaust Museum Houston which preserves for future generations the memory of those who died and the stories of those who survived.

In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. Many commemorate Yom HaShoah by lighting yellow candles to keep alive the memories of the victims. Most synagogues and Jewish communities gather together to mark the day through worship, music and the stories from survivors.

To learn more about Winston & Strawn’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, click here.