1000 x 90

Lees-McRae College Hosts Childhood Holocaust Survivor Nov. 16


BANNER ELK, N.C. —Lees-McRae College will host childhood survivor of the Holocaust, Louise Lawrence-Israëls, to speak about her experience and life story on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Hayes Auditorium.

Lawrence-Israëls volunteers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. to honor the memories of her family along with others who struggled during World War II.

“German forces had invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 and set up a German administration,” according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. “The Nazis also confiscated the family business. By the time Louise was born [in 1942 in Haarlem, Netherlands], antisemitic laws were enacted and Jews were forced to wear a yellow star. By July of 1942 deportations of Jews from the Netherlands to the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Sobibor had begun. In January 1943 Louise and her family were ordered to move to Amsterdam, and shortly thereafter went into hiding to escape deportation.”

In conjunction with her speech, Lees-McRae Theatre Arts will present the living documentary, And Then They Came for Me: Remembering The World of Anne Frank, Nov. 17–18 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. in Hayes Auditorium and Broyhill Theatre.

Tickets for the show are $12 for adults, $5 for students/children and free for Lees-McRae students, faculty and staff. They can be purchased online at lmc.edu/theatreshows or at the door one hour prior to show time. All seating is general admission.

The Lees-McRae Theatre Arts Department will also host special performances of And Then They Came For Me: Remembering The World of Anne Frank for local schools. If interested in bringing a school group, please call 828.898.8721.