To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre (HKHTC) hosted a compelling event featuring Professor Peter Lantos, Holocaust survivor and author of The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die and Parallel Lines: A Journey from Childhood to Belsen.

On 19 June 2025, a full audience gathered to hear Peter share his powerful first‑hand account of his family’s survival during the Holocaust, and how those experiences later shaped his distinguished career as a medical scientist and author.

踏入亂世，愛能否跨越界限？
In a world at war, can love transcend borders?

1938年，戰火逼近，一對兄弟逃離納粹迫害，隨近兩萬猶太難民輾轉抵達上海。兩人在陌生的異鄉開展新生活，弟弟卻與上海姑娘萌生一段世俗不容的愛情——一段跨越文化、挑戰命運的愛情故事即將展開！音樂交織歷史，旋律承載情感。《上海！上海！》將打造一場震撼心靈的音樂旅程。

Written by Emmy Award-winning composer Aaron Zigman’s Émigré, this semi-staged production narrates the forbidden love between a Jewish refugee and a Shanghainese girl. Two brothers flee imminent Nazi persecution following Kristallnacht in 1938. They find sanctuary in the distant and unfamiliar city of Shanghai, joining nearly 20,000 other Jewish refugees in rebuilding lives away from their native land. The forbidden love between the younger brother and a Shanghainese girl ends in tragedy.

For everyone who had the opportunity to watch Aaron Zigman’s Émigré with us at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in spring 2025, we hope you enjoyed the experience. Please click here for the HKPhil trailer of the remarkable performance. 

Local teachers and educators joined us at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and at the University of Macau in the week of 24 February 2025 for a special educators workshop series titled “Foundational Past: Holocaust Education and Collective Memory in the 21st Century,” presented by Professor Marc van Berkel, the only Chair Professor of Holocaust Studies in the Netherlands.

This important workshop series delved into the current status of Holocaust education in the Netherlands, examining the various aspects of historical content and pedagogical approaches. Professor van Berkel also explored how the Holocaust was processed and represented in key institutions, with a particular focus on the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam and the Camp Westerbork National Memorial Centre.

It was wonderful to have different teachers who joined us that week, especially those looking to deepen their understanding of Holocaust education and engage with a critical aspect of collective memory, as well as the vital role of education in shaping our understanding of the past.

As HKHTC’s Special Educational Event Series continues to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation and the end of World War II, Holocaust survivor Mark Spigelman joined Simon K. Li, HKHTC Executive Director and Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation, for a series of dialogue events across various schools and college campuses in both Hong Kong and Macau. These sessions engaged primary and secondary school students, as well as university students, in meaningful discussions.

In addition, Rachel Spigelman, the child of Holocaust survivors and accomplished author of Blue Eyes Wide Open, spent time with schoolchildren for a reading and discussion centered on her father’s wartime stories.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the students from our partner schools and colleges for their enthusiastic engagement. Their thoughtful and insightful questions made this month truly memorable as they learned about Professor Spigelman’s story of resilience and survival during wartime.

In partnership with Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK), the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre (HKHTC) proudly hosted a memorial reception and dinner commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. 

We were honoured to hear from Harvard University’s Professor Rana Mitter, who shared insights on China’s role in WWII, and Holocaust survivor Professor Mark Spigelman (along with Mrs Rachel Spigelman), whose powerful story of resilience serves as a reminder of the importance of remembering our history to prevent future atrocities.

As part of this event, we showcased innovative stations that offered educators and students a glimpse into the transformative use of AI and VR in Holocaust and tolerance education. Attendees experienced the groundbreaking Dimensions in Testimony project (featuring former comfort woman survivor Grandma Peng as well as Nanjing Massacre survivor Madame Xia) and the immersive VR experience, The Last Goodbye, featuring the testimony of Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter. 

This pilot project, which is in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation and includes the testimony of a comfort woman for the first time ever in an AI format, allows audiences to engage in real-time conversations with these remarkable individuals, ensuring their stories are heard and remembered. For more details, please check out this recent SCMP feature.

We invite you to watch the two-part memorial event video here: Part One, and Part Two

Together, we honour the past and strive to ensure that these stories continue to inspire future generations. 

This weekend (November 9 and 10) marks the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), a pivotal moment in the Nazi persecution of Jews. What began as nonviolent discrimination escalated dramatically during those two days in 1938, when Gestapo-led mobs violently destroyed Jewish businesses and homes, resulting in 91 deaths and the arrest of 30,000 Jewish men. Over 200 synagogues were set ablaze, while firefighters were ordered to let them burn.

In remembrance of this tragic event, HKHTC’s Executive Director and USC Shoah Foundation’s Senior Fellow, Simon K. Li, delivered a lecture titled “Remembering Kristallnacht” to the local Chinese community. The audience engaged deeply, raising important questions about Kristallnacht, the Holocaust, and the rising tide of antisemitism globally.

Join us in reflecting on this dark chapter of history and its relevance today.