Trinity hosts Holocaust survivors to share their stories on Feb. 27

Trinity International University is hosting Holocaust survivors Agnes M. Schwartz and Frank Stern to share their stories during an “Honoring Holocaust Survivors” event on Monday, Feb. 27. The event will be held in Melton Hall on the Deerfield Campus, from 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Agnes M. Schwartz was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1933, and survived the Holocaust as a hidden child. She passed as her nanny Julia’s niece and survived the constant bombings by hiding in a basement. While her mother and siblings did not survive, Schwartz was reunited with her father after the war, and they immigrated to Chicago early in 1947. Eventually her father returned to Hungary, leaving Schwartz in the care of her mother’s youngest sister and her family.

After difficult teen years, Agnes married at 18 and had three children. Later, she carved out a career for herself as a legal secretary and office manager. She currently has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Since her retirement, Agnes has become an active member of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s Speaker’s Bureau.

Frank Stern was born in Frankfurt, Germany, at the end of 1929. He experienced Kristallnacht (“The Night of Broken Glass”) first-hand in 1938, when he was only 8 years old. On this night, the Nazis launched a series of attacks on Jewish homes, synagogues, and businesses. His family left Germany the following year, living in Switzerland and England while waiting to be allowed to enter the United States.

After being invited to share his experiences on the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Stern became a speaker at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. Since then, he estimates, he has told his story more than 100 times to schools, congregations and other groups.

The event is free and open to the public, sponsored by Trinity’s Shalom Student Fellowship. Following the presentations, there will be a time for audience members to ask questions. Light refreshments will be served.