April 22, 2021
Julie Kohner, daughter of Holocaust survivors, shares 'Voices of the Generations' on Thursday, April 29
On Thursday, April 29, at 4 p.m., educator Julie Kohner will return to Kansas State University to present "Voices of the Generations," a multimedia program that shares experiences of the Holocaust through the life of her family.
The event will take place on Zoom. Registration is free but required at tinyurl.com/juliekohnerkstate.
Kohner's mother, Hanna Kohner, survived four concentration camps during the Holocaust, while Kohner's father, Walter, escaped by immigrating to the United States. They reunited after the war and finally married. Together, they wrote "Hanna and Walter, A Love Story," which traces their steps from the 1930s in Czechoslovakia to California after World War II.
Using the book, artifacts and an episode of "This Is Your Life," in which her mother was the first survivor to share her story on national television, Kohner reveals the atrocities of the Holocaust in a personal and immediate way.
Kohner has been a Jewish educator for more than 30 years. She has a master's degree in educational counseling, and she has been an invited speaker at community centers, schools, and universities across the United States. "Voices of the Generations" originated in a 1990 program she created so that her seventh-grade b'nai mitzvah classes would understand the Holocaust through her mother's eyes.
"We look forward to welcoming Julie Kohner back to Kansas State, so even more students and community members can hear the personal stories of Julie's family and discover ways to share this history with others," said Karin Westman, department head of English.
"Voices of the Generations" is sponsored by K-State Libraries, the College of Education, and the departments of English and history in the College of Arts and Sciences.
To learn more about "Voices of the Generations," visit vogcharity.org.