Survivor to speak on Holocaust Remembrance Day

The University community will have a rare opportunity to hear in person a survivor of the Holocaust when Marianne Balshone visits campus April 19.

Beth Griech-Polelle, history, has invited Balshone to visit her class in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 19. She has opened the class to others who wish to hear the stirring story of the Balshone family’s experiences in war-ravaged Hungary, how it managed under Nazi rule and of its emigration to the United States. Griech-Polelle noted it is especially important that people take the opportunity to hear Balshone since “with the passage of time, the circle of survivors shrinks considerably.”

The class will be held from 4:30-5:45 p.m. in 112 Business Administration Building.

Born in Hungary, Balshone came through the Holocaust alive because of the heroic efforts of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who came to Budapest expressly to save Jews from being deported to concentration camps. Three generations of Balshone’s family survived thanks to his intervention on their behalf, and today Marianne Balshone visits schools, universities, churches, synagogues and organizations speaking about her extraordinary story and the man who gave up a life of privilege and wealth to save others. Her mission is to help educate a new generation about the forces of hatred and prejudice and the importance of tolerance and hope.