Holocaust Survivors' Son Pledge $100,000 to Stockton for Holocaust Education

To honor the life stories of his parents, Holocaust survivors Wally and Lutz Hammerschlag, Lennard Hammerschlag pledged $100,000 to a new Stockton University Foundation fund that will benefit educators who are committed to ensuring that the mission of Holocaust education and remembrance continues.

Hammerschag, who has residences in Atlantic City, and Zimbabwe, said he wishes to honor the memory of his mother, Wally (Moritz) Hammerschlag of Frankfurt au Main, Germany; and his father, Ludwig Adolf Hammerschlag, known as Lutz.

His mother was an eyewitness to the violent anti-Jewish pogrom of November 9-10, 1938 known as Kristallnacht. HIs father’s family had lived in Germany for generations and could trace their ancestry going back centuries.

The Wally and Lutz Hammerschlag Educator Fellowship is a permanently restricted fund which can only be used to provide academic financial awards to educators attending and/or participating in professional development opportunities available through The Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton. The donor said he intends to fulfill this pledge within a 10-year period.

“Schoolchildren must learn what happened in the Holocaust so it never happens again,” Hammerschlag said of his motivation in creating the educator fellowship.

Stockton University Interim President Harvey Kesselman and Richard Dovey, chair of the Stockton University Foundation Board of Directors, thanked Hammerschlag for his gift, presented on the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Hammerschlag’s brother, Robert, was also present for the signing.

“This means a great deal to us,” Kesselman told Hammerschlag. ”Stockton is deeply committed to Holocaust education and we are honored by your gift.”

Each educator who receives a learning opportunity provided by the fund will receive a copy of the Hammerschlags’ life stories in written form.

“The themes of their life stories are resilience, and no one can take away your education from you,” Lennard Hammerschlag said.

The Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton offers many other opportunities to promote Holocaust and genocide education, which is mandated by the state. Several thousand educators have attended workshops and other events organized by the center in recent years. Over 1,000 students from middle and high schools and their teachers are scheduled to visit Stockton’s current exhibit: “Final Sale: The End of Jewish Owned Businesses in Nazi Berlin,” with students in Holocaust and Genocide Studies programs serving as trained tour guides.

Among other examples of learning opportunities for educators are the bi-annual Summer Educator Seminar at Stockton, Yad Vashem teacher seminars in Jerusalem, study tours to European sites related to the Holocaust, and study tours to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

Recipients of the Hammerschlag fellowship will be determined by the university’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program Award Selection Committee. Recipients are expected to be full-time educators of grades 4 through 12, and college faculty who teach a state-approved curriculum on Holocaust education and remembrance.

Photo credit: Maryjane Briant/Stockton University

Photo # 1: Lennard Hammerschlag, of Atlantic City and Zimbabwe, left, is thanked by Stockton Interim President Harvey Kesselman after signing an agreement to create a $100,000 educator fellowship in memory of his parents, Holocaust survivors Wally and Lutz Hammerschlag.

Photo # 2: Lennard Hammerschlag, of Atlantic City and Zimbabwe, seated at center, is thanked by Stockton Interim President Harvey Kesselman, right, for creating a $100,000 educator fellowship in memory of his parents, Holocaust survivors Wally and Lutz Hammerschlag. Also present at the signing on the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which Hammerschlag’s mother Wally witnessed, are: Richard Dovey, chair of the University Foundation Board of Directors, seated at left; and standing left to right: Philip Ellmore, Chief Development Officer and executive director of the Foundation; Gail Rosenthal, director of The Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center; Michael Hayse,associate professor of Historical Studies and Holocaust Studies, Robert Hammerschlag, Lennard’s brother and son of Wally and Lutz; Madeleine Deininger, chair of the Stockton Board of Trustees and Robert Gregg, dean of the School of General Studies.