Seventy-five years ago this spring, U.S. and other allied troops liberated Nazi camps across Europe. Holocaust Remembrance Day honors the six million Jewish men, women and children who perished as a result of Nazi persecution.

The Department of Commerce will present Hope in Uncertain Times:  A Virtual Holocaust Remembrance Program on Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. Watch the recording.

Participants will have the privilege of hearing from Holocaust survivor, U.S. Army Veteran, and former NIST Guest Researcher, Dr. Steven Fenves. 

Dr. Fenves was 10 years old when Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in 1941.  His Jewish family was forced to sell its possessions and occupy a corner of its home while Hungarian officers took over the rest.  His father’s publishing house came under censorship by the Hungarian dictatorship.  Dr. Fenves and other members of his family were deported to Auschwitz in 1944.  Because he spoke fluent German, he was chosen to be an interpreter by the German Kapos.  During his time in the camp, he became part of the resistance.  He was later transferred to Niederorschel camp and then to Buchenwald, where he was liberated by American soldiers in 1945.  He escaped Yugoslavia to the U.S. in 1950 and was drafted into the Army 18 months later.  Upon his discharge, he studied under the GI Bill, eventually earning his doctorate.  He went on to a 42-year academic career in the fields of computer science and civil engineering.  He worked as a Guest Researcher at NIST from 1999 to 2009.  Since 2009, he has served as a volunteer at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

You will also hear from Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, who will provide welcome remarks.

The U.S. Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust to reaffirm our nation’s commitment to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. The Days of Remembrance run from the Sunday before Holocaust Remembrance Day (also known as Yom HaShoah) through the following Sunday.

Watch The Recording