Irene Hasenberg Butter in 2013 with her childhood blanket, the same one she had in Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen, and Camp Jeanne d’Arc in Algeria. Courtesy of Irene Hasenberg Butter
By Matthew Bartow
Contributor
Washtenaw Community College will host Irene Hasenberg Butter, a Holocaust survivor who grew up as a Jewish child in Nazi-controlled Germany.
Butter survived internment in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the Holocaust. She is the subject of the documentary “Never a Bystander,” the author the memoir “Shores Beyond Shores” and current professor emerita of public health at the University of Michigan.
She will speak at Towsley Auditorium in the Morris Lawrence building on March 27 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m as part of WCC’s Global Discussion Series. The event is free and open to the public, according to Devin Streur, an international student adviser at WCC.
“Everyone is welcome,” Steur said. “Students are encouraged to bring anyone they know, including friends, family, and neighbors.”
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- Camp Bergen-Belsen (Germany): This photo, taken at the camp’s liberation in spring 1945, shows the large pile of shoes where Werner worked. Courtesy of John Bidwell
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- Irene Hasenberg Butter as a child in 1947 in the Netherlands. Courtesy of Irene Hasenberg Butter
The event is named “Never a Bystander: Lessons from a Holocaust Survivor for Today,” inspired by the documentary. Butter said in an email interview that in the face of oppression and intolerance, we cannot afford to be bystanders.
“All of us have the responsibility of opposing what is wrong, unjust and inhumane,” Butter said. “We cannot afford to be silent, passive, or indifferent when people are deprived of basic human rights and basic necessities.”
Rabbi Josh Whinston will also speak at the event, where he will discuss the current situation in Tornillo’s detention tent city in Texas where migrant children are being held, and the role activism has played in aiding them.
Rachel Barsch, supervisor of student activities at WCC, said that the first 75 students will receive a free copy of Butter’s book which details her journey through the Holocaust. Students will have the opportunity to get their book signed by Butter following the presentation.
The event will be co-hosted by the student activities department and International Student Center. It was originally planned for Feb. 6, but was postponed due to inclement weather.
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