Michael Bornstein and his daughter Debbie Bornstein-Holinstat
Chattanooga Public Library will host two speaking engagements with Holocaust survivor Michael Bornstein and his daughter Debbie Bornstein-Holinstat. Co-authors of the book Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz, both will speak on Mr. Bornstein’s experience inside Auschwitz, the largest German Nazi concentration camp and extermination center.
Mr. Bornstein is one of the youngest survivors of the Auschwitz death camp. At the age of four, he managed to stay hidden and evade murder in the most notorious death camp in world history, where the average lifespan of a child was just two weeks. Photos of Mr. Bornstein being liberated by Soviet soldiers at the camp have been spotted on museum walls, book covers and film clips around the world and yet he waited more than 70 years to step forward and share his story.
Mr. Bornstein and Ms. Bornstein-Holinstat will present this story at two presentations at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Thursday. A morning speaking engagement at 10 a.m. will be exclusively for middle and high school students and their teachers. Nearly 1,400 students and teachers already plan to attend the event, with school bus costs covered by Unum and ArtsBuild for schools that need it. Then, CPL will host another presentation at 7 p.m. for the general public. Anyone who would like to attend can reserve their seat for free through CPL’s website.
A Presentation by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein-Hollinstat will be be Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Free tickets can be reserved here.
More information about Mr. Bornstein and his book can be found at mbornstein.com.
Americans and the Holocaust is co-presented locally by The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, with additional support from Lyndhurst Foundation, EPB, Truist, McGriff, CHI Memorial, BCBST Community Trust, The Kennedy Foundation, Patten and Patten Investment Advisors, Southeastern Trust Company, First-Centenary United Methodist Church, Hamico Inc., The Tucker Foundation, Moxy Hotel Chattanooga, Herb Cohn, Amy and John Cohen, Helen Pregulman, and the Watson Family Generosity Fund. CPL and the CPL Foundation are deeply grateful for the support and commitment of these partners.