On 27 April 2019, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre, Facing History and Ourselves and Asia Society organized a one-day workshop which aimed to prepare teachers to interweave a literary analysis of Elie Wiesel’s powerful and poignant memoir with an exploration of the relevant historical context underlying Wiesel’s experience. The workshop explored the central questions: How is our identity shaped and reshaped by the circumstances we encounter? How do tragedy and trauma influence an individual’s identity and choices?

Thanks so much for joining our teachers training workshop with Facing History and Ourselves at Asia Society last weekend. It was wonderful to have a full house.

On 3 March 2019, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre was delighted to co-organise the screening and discussion event ‘Bye Bye Germany’ at Broadway Cinematheque:

Bye Bye Germany –
Screening and Discussion with Simon K. Li, HKHTC Executive Director

Chinese and English captions will be available.  電影提供中、英文字幕。
The post-screening discussion will be conducted in Cantonese.  座談會以廣東話進行。

About the speaker:
Simon K. Li is the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre. An award-winning former journalist in Canada, he was a Senior Lecturer and Visiting Educator at the Amsterdam-based Anne Frank House.

More about the film:
https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Bye-Bye-Germany-an-engaging-tale-of-Jews-12875292.php

HKHTC was pleased to jointly coordinate the opening ceremony of the ‘Spots of Light: Women in the Holocaust’ exhibition with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on Wednesday, 13 February. The well-attended event included presentations by Israeli Consul-General Ahuva Spieler, HKHTC board member Dr. Roland Vogt, HKU academic Elizabeth LaCouture and Elsa High School students Elianna Diestel and Sarah Cohen.

This is a special project organized along with the University of Hong Kong and in cooperation with Yad Vashem.

Budapest-born Holocaust survivor, Ms Eva Koralnik, Eva spoke to 11 schools and universities during her visit to Hong Kong and Macau. Her presentations created a personal connection with over 3,000 students and community members, the large majority of whom never previously met a Holocaust survivor. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive as Eva made an unforgettable impression on everyone who heard her story.

HKHTC was pleased to host an evening of dialogue with Holocaust survivor Eva Koralnik on 16 January at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center (“ASHK”). Eva engaged in a thought-provoking, special dialogue with ASHK’s Chairman Ronnie Chan. Focus was on Eva’s story of survival and her life in Switzerland since then, including her role as a translator during the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem and her career as a prominent literary agent. During the Q&A session, the audience heard Eva’s thoughts on a wide range of issues from her unique perspective as a Holocaust survivor.

In cooperation with The Commercial Press bookstore, HKHTC co-hosted an International Holocaust Remembrance Day lecture presented by Simon K. Li. The public lecture was well received, with most attendees in the fully booked venue staying well beyond the scheduled event closing and asking many questions about the Holocaust.

HKHTC hosted the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day (“UNHMD”) commemoration on 23 January at Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun Community Complex. Budapest-born Holocaust survivor, Ms Eva Koralnik, delivered a moving and memorable keynote address to over 250 people. Eva told the incredible story of her escape from Nazi-occupied Hungary in 1944 and the noble actions of Swiss diplomat Dr Harald Feller to save Eva, her family, and many others. Dr Feller was later officially recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations. Eva’s deeply personal and eloquent account was a reminder of the terrifying consequences of hatred and intolerance, as well as the great difference one individual, such as Dr Feller, can make in our world. The UNHMD ceremony also included many commemorative activities, including the lighting of six candles in memory of the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. Consistent with the commemoration’s theme of “Being a Woman in the Holocaust”, the six candles were lit by female members of the community, following an introduction by Consul General Ahuva Spieler of the Consulate General of Israel in Hong Kong and Macau. Attending dignitaries included the Hong Kong SAR’s first and former Chief Executive, the Honourable Tung Chee-hwa, and the HKSAR’s Permanent Secretary for Education Mrs Ingrid Yeung. Many Consuls General, business leaders, and members of the local community also attended.

The UNHMD commemoration and related activities were made possible by the Fok Ying Tung Foundation’s generous sponsorship. Cathay Pacific also provided strong support.

Prior to the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day event, Holocaust survivor Eva Koralnik gave a detailed account of her story to a large, highly engaged audience at the Jewish Community Centre of Hong Kong on January 17, 2019.

This evening event is co-organized by the HKHTC and the JCC.

HKHTC greatly appreciates the community’s support as we continue to deliver high-quality Holocaust education programming and we encourage you to join us at our upcoming events. This year we have partnered with the Hong Kong Human Dignity Festival, which featured an HKHTC presentation by our Executive Director Simon K. Li on the Holocaust and genocide on Sunday 18 November at Eaton Hotel, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan, Hong Kong.

During the week of 12 November 2018, HKHTC was pleased to host the director of ‘Back to Berlin’ Catherine Lurie-Alt, who screened her film in local schools and participated in Q&A sessions with students. These events reached over 280 students in Hong Kong, who found the film to be a courageous stand against racism and were moved by the survivors’ stories portrayed in the narrative.

For more about the film, please follow its Facebook page by accessing the link here: https://www.facebook.com/back2berlin2018/