Hudson County Community College and Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs to Host Speaker for Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust survivor Pieter Kohnstam will share his connection to Anne Frank and his experience fleeing the Nazis at the April 8 Zoom event.

April 5, 2021, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC), in partnership with Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop, and the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs, will present a special College Speaker Series event commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event, featuring Holocaust survivor and former Bayonne resident, Pieter Kohnstam, will take place via Zoom on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 12:00 noon. The event will be co-moderated by Michelle Vitale, HCCC Director of Cultural Affairs; Elana Winslow, HCCC Assistant Professor and Business Program Coordinator; and Morgan Bailey of the Anne Frank Center USA.

 

An Amsterdam native, Mr. Kohnstam and his family lived in the Nuremberg/Fuerth area of Germany, where they had a lucrative toy merchandising company. Because of the Nazis, the family was forced to abandon Germany and return to Amsterdam. There, they lived downstairs from Anne Frank’s family, and Anne babysat Pieter. Eventually, the Kohnstams escaped Nazi persecution by moving to Argentina, and Mr. Kohnstam emigrated to the United State in 1963.

The community is invited to submit questions for Mr. Kohnstam by emailing mvitaleFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE with “Pieter Kohnstam” as the subject line by Monday, April 5, 2021.

The Zoom event may be accessed at https://zoom.us/j/97608460977?pwd=NEZ4VlhMaFo5am5Qb2E1ejVzTWIzdz09; meeting ID: 976 0846 0977, passcode: 317048.