Holocaust Remembrance Day Program Held at Bergen Community College
By Bergen Community College Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 08:38 AM EDT
Tamara Freeman
The Holocaust Remembrance Day Program began with a candle lighting ceremony led by Rabbi Neal Borovitz of Temple Sholom in River Edge, NJ. Rabbi Borovitz, who lives in Paramus, has officiated at events at Bergen in the past.
Following the candle lighting, Tamara Freeman of Saddle River spoke about Holocaust music and performed on a Joseph Bausch viola that was itself, a Holocaust survivor; the instrument had been rescued from the Nazis during World War II. A talk by Colleen Tambuscio of New Milford High School followed, who, together with a panel of her students, discussed their visit to concentration camps in Europe.
The program continued with a screening of the film, “Paper Clips.†This documentary told the story of the students of Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee who had little knowledge of the world outside their insulated valley and had difficulty grasping the concept of six million Holocaust victims. They decided to collect six million paper clips—one for each of the victims—and ended up not only reaching their goal, but through the process, transforming themselves and their community.
The Holocaust Remembrance Day Program was sponsored by the Bergen Community College Office of the Academic Vice President and was organized by the Holocaust Remembrance Committee, co-chaired by Bergen Assistant Professors Mark Altschuler and Lenore Lerer.
Bergen Community College is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling more than 14,000 students in Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degree programs, and certificate programs. Information about the College is available on this Web site or by phoning the Welcome Center at 201-447-7200.
