Holocaust Memorial Center to Host Author Talk and Presentation on "The Long Journey to Cleveland," Feb. 15

The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus announced that it is hosting metro Detroit author Rudolf Ruder for a presentation on “The Long Journey to Cleveland,” at 11 a.m. on Feb. 15.

Entry to the event, at the Holocaust Memorial Center located at 28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills, is free to museum members and included with the price of admission for non-members. Signed books also will be available for $20.

During his presentation, Ruder will share his parents’ unusual and fascinating story. His mother, Marile, as a nine-year-old girl living in Germany, presented Adolf Hitler with a bouquet of flowers and spent eight years in the Hitler Youth while her father, a train engineer, transported Jews to concentration camps.

Ruder’s father, Simon, a Jewish tailor, was captured by the Gestapo, imprisoned and forced to make SS uniforms. His hellish journey through the Third Reich included incarceration in Plaszow and Auschwitz.

Ruder’s story tells of the hidden connections between the two families and the improbable events that led to his parents meeting and overcoming enormous religious and cultural chasms.

This program is being made possible by the generous support of the PNC Foundation.

The Holocaust Memorial Center is open Sunday – Thursday from 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 3:30 p.m.); and Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (last admission at 1:30 p.m.). The museum is closed on Saturday and public holidays. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and college students and $5 for children.

About the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus

The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus opened in 1984. Local Holocaust survivors, with community support, founded the museum to teach about the senseless murder of millions, and why everyone must respect and stand up for the rights of others if the world is to prevent future discrimination, hate crime and genocide. As Michigan’s only Holocaust museum, the Holocaust Memorial Center annually touches the lives of more than 85,000 individuals, who leave the museum profoundly affected with a newly acquired sense of history, social responsibility and morality. The Holocaust Memorial Center’s exhibits create a call to action, teaching visitors through the examples of those who risked their lives to save others, and asking its guests to react to contemporary challenges such as racism, intolerance, bullying and prejudice.

The facility is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available at both the North and South entrances.

For more information on the Holocaust Memorial Center, visit www.holocaustcenter.org, or call 248-553-2400.