Holocaust survivor to speak about life in concentration camp Oakton

Join survivor Magda Brown for a vivid, firsthand account of life during the Holocaust at a free lecture 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Oakton Community College's Skokie campus, 7701 N. Lincoln Ave., in Rooms A145-152.

A member of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's Speaker Bureau, Brown was only 17 when she and her family of Hungarian Jews were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Brown lost her family to the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She endured hardships and backbreaking labor before she escaped and was ultimately liberated by American soldiers.

"Magda is on a mission to share her story with as many people as she can," says Wendy Adele-Marie, Oakton professor of history and Jewish Studies coordinator. "People are encouraged to attend this powerful presentation to hear about her harrowing story of surviving an ordeal and starting a new life in the United States."

Brown has spoken to more than 100,000 people at schools, universities, churches, synagogues and other events worldwide.

"My hope is that through sharing my story, I can personally talk about the horrors of the Holocaust to remind this generation of the dangers of hatred, prejudice and discrimination," Brown says on the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's webpage.

Brown's lecture is sponsored by Jewish Studies at Oakton with a generous grant from the Oakton Community College Educational Foundation.

For information, contact jewishstudies@oakton.edu.