In February, our Holocaust Centre was delighted to co-organize a free community screening of Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War and a public discussion event with the film’s co-executive producer Deanna Byck in Hong Kong. It was truly encouraging to see that many of our young generations from diverse ethnic backgrounds were in our audience to learn about a remarkably heroic story during the Holocaust.

On 23 January 2017, the Hong Kong Holocaust & Tolerance Centre marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a moving, inspiring ceremony at the Community Hall in Sai Ying Pun. Many Jewish and local community members were in attendance, as were more than 30 diplomats and dignitaries, including The Hon. Tung Chee-hwa and The Hon. Donald Tsang, both former Chief Executives of Hong Kong, and Ms Florence Hui, the Under Secretary for Home Affairs of the HKSAR Government. We were honoured that Micha Gelber, an 81-year-old Dutchman who lived through the Holocaust, travelled from the Netherlands to Hong Kong to share his story of survival with us.

Please click here for more photos from our UN Holocaust Memorial Day 2017 event and you can also watch a video of the evening on our Facebook page. 

The exhibition ‘Surviving Evil’ was extensively reported in the media.

We have had additional coverage from  The Standard, Hong Kong Magazine, SCMP listings-editors choice, Jewish Times Asia, and Asian Jewish Life as well as Sing Tao and Ta Kung Pao in the Chinese press.

Mrs Atzmon’s visit to Macau was covered by the Portugese language paper hojemacau.

Photos from Mrs Atzmon’s school visits as a gallery or a slide show can be viewed here.

This fall, we were proud to sponsor the following Holocaust films as part of the 17th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. They were shown at local and international schools as well as universities around Hong Kong:

Karski and the Lords of Humanity  – 72 min
The Eichmann Show – 90 min
Fanny’s Journey – 94 min
Les Hértiers​ – 100 min
A Children’s Song – 16 min
The Interrogation – 95 min

These films have helped students gain a deeper understanding of the issues that arise from the Holocaust.

On January 19, 2017, HKHTC and the Hong Kong Baptist University organized a public event “Lesson on Life and Peace: The Extraordinary Story of Holocaust Survivor Micha Gelber” with Dutch Holocaust survivor Micha Gelber, HKBU professor Emilie Tran, and Simon Li, HKHTC Director of Education.

During the session, Micha recounted the incredible story of his childhood and fight for survival in the face of Nazi occupation during WWII. Our event was attended by a group of many undergraduate and graduate students, local high school students, European diplomats as well as members of the general public.

Please click here for more photos from the HKHTC-HKBU event.

On January 17, 2017, HKHTC and the Univeristy of Hong Kong hosted a very well-attended talk “Micha Gelber: A Dutch Survival Story of the Holocaust” with Holocaust survivor Micha Gelber, HKU professor Roland Vogt, and Simon Li, HKHTC Director of Education.

Please join us as Micha Gelber, survivor of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, recounts the amazing story of his childhood and fight for survival in the face of Nazi occupation.

Tuesday 17th January 2017 8pm
Jewish Community Centre, 70 Robinson Road

On April 4th, Dr Florian Knothe, Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery, gave a guided visit and lecture about the paintings of Sara Atzmon, was exhibiting her art at the Museum in conjunction with the HKHTC and Goethe-Institut Hongkong.

“Ms. Atzmons artworks, many of which are large-scale, highly impactful paintings, reflect the artist’s memories of her horrible experiences during the Shoah. In 1944, Ms. Atzmon was first deported to Strasshof and from there she was sent to Bergen-Belsen under terrible circumstances.  As an adult, Ms. Atzmon became a talent painter dedicated to use her, often very dramatic and explicit, paintings, to bring awareness to the cruel times in our fairly recent past, and to educate a young generation to treasure and practice tolerance, and foster understanding and compassion between people of different religions and cultural backgrounds”

The Sara Atzmon Exhibition was officially opened at the Goethe-Institut Hongkong on 2nd April and closed on 3rd May.

This exhibition was running in parallel with Mrs Atzmon’s exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong.  The Goethe-Institut also screened three excellent Holocaust related films to compliment their educational work, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism and the 25th anniversary of re-unification.

The artworks exhibited varied from the pieces at UMAG and wonderfully complimented the exposure of Mrs Atzmons educational and artistic work to the Hong Kong public.

Goethe-Institut received over 530 individual vistors to the exhibition as well as at least 100 students who visited on pre arranged tours.