Holocaust survivor to speak at local high schools

Holocaust survivor Peter Metzelaar of Seattle will be in Kalispell early next month to share his story of survival with high school students and the public.

Born in 1935 in Amsterdam, Metzelaar was 7 when his family — except for his mother, Ellie, and himself — was taken by the Nazis in 1942.

Both mother and son contacted the Dutch Underground for help and went into hiding, according to the Holocaust Center for Humanity. With the eventual threat of being turned in, Metzelaar’s mother led them in a daring escape, attempting to hitch a ride to Amsterdam.

“In a cunning display, they flagged down a Nazi troop convoy, fooled them into thinking they were a Red Cross nurse and orphan, and hitched a ride back to Amsterdam undetected,” according to the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle.

Metzelaar will speak to students at Glacier and Whitefish high schools May 5 and 6. Event organizer Rabbi Francine Roston of the Glacier Jewish Community-B’nai Shalom coordinated with literature and history departments to bring the event to students.

“The population of Holocaust survivors and witnesses to the horrors of the Holocaust are aging and dying at an increasingly high rate,” Roston said. “To hear from someone who survived the Holocaust is a gift we can give this generation of students and our own community — before it is too late.”

The public is invited to hear Metzelaar speak at 7 p.m. May 5 in the Glacier High School auditorium.

This event on Holocaust Remembrance Day will begin with a candle-lighting ceremony to honor the memory of approximately 6 million Jews who were systematically murdered.

“No matter one’s faith, the lessons of the Holocaust resonate with all human beings concerned that we never again engage in genocide or allow nations to commit genocide,” Roston said.

Metzelaar’s visit is sponsored by the Seattle Holocaust Center for Humanity, Montana Human Rights Network, Love Lives Here, Flathead Beacon Foundation and Glacier Jewish Community-B’nai Shalom.

For more information on Metzelaar, go to www.holocaustcenterseattle.org.