KO Students Attend Holocaust Commemoration

A contingent of 21 students from KO, along with Upper School history teacher Gene Cassidy, Upper School Head Lisa Loeb, and Upper School history teacher David Baker, went to the state Capitol to see the 42nd Annual Holocaust Commemoration. The trip was funded by Voices of Hope through their HERO Center.

At the event, the group heard from Holocaust survivors Andy Sarkany and Rabbi Philip Lazowski (a KO grandparent) and welcoming speeches from Governor Lamont and US Senator Richard Blumenthal.  The students learned from Sarkany’s account as a young Hungarian Jewish boy who hid from the Nazis with 150 other children of a preschool/kindergarten in the basement of a building. Sarkany’s message is that words have power, and we should avoid using the word hate and instead focus our lives on two words: LOVE and HOPE. It was an amazing experience to see the Capitol, witness the commemoration in the Senate Chambers, and see six Holocaust survivors light candles.