Hillel Rabbi Joseph Polak spoke to Boston University students about his Holocaust experience as an infant in an effort to awaken students to the modern day tragedy Monday night in the Franklin Lounge of Towers.
BU's Holocaust Committee Vice President Sharon Dziesietnik said with the help of BU's Hillel House, Holocaust survivors in the area were contacted.
"The committee is dedicated to spreading Holocaust awareness and education at BU and in the Boston area," the School of Management junior said in an email.
At Polak's request, the about 40 students in attendance gathered their chairs around the fireplace to promote a more intimate environment.
Polak, who was born in 1942, gave the audience an infant's account of survival during the Holocaust. He set the scene by describing his hometown in Holland where his family was eventually removed and taken to a concentration camp.
While Polak said he has few memories of his father or the details of his time, Polak's survival story is fed by recollections from his friends and mother who survived the war. A childhood friend of Polak's told him the story of how they used to play hide-and-seek among the dead bodies strewn over the camp ground.
Holocaust Committee President Noah Chanin said Polak's perspective was interesting.
"No matter if you know a little or a lot about the Holocaust history, [the survival story] puts a face to the [tragedy]," the College of Communication junior said.
Polak spoke for an hour before giving students the opportunity to ask questions. Chanin said Polak "inspired and captured" the attention of his audience.
Throughout the talk, several students broke into tears while Polak read journal entries, including one describing his reunion with his mother after being estranged from her at age three.
School of Education senior Ansley Dickens said she liked the animation of Polak's reading.
School of Management junior Marina Rakhkim said she read about the event in the weekly Hillel newsletter and was motivated to attend because she had family members who died during the Holocaust.
"I thought it would be interesting to hear a survival story because I have no living relatives [from the Holocaust]," she said.
Polak ended by challenging his audience.
"Take [my] story and tell the world what the consequences of hatred are," he said.
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