As a small child, Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff fled her Nazi-occupied hometown of Kosice, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia) along with her parents and infant brother. They remained on the run and in open hiding for seven months—during which they had several narrow escapes, including an arrest in Spain—until they reached Lisbon, Portugal, where they joined tens of thousands of Jewish refugees awaiting ships to the United States. With the assistance of HIAS, Dr. Klein Kassenoff and her parents were rescued from Portugal in 1941, boarding one of the last ships to safety.
Dr. Klein Kassenoff became the founding director of the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute. She is also the Education Chairperson at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Florida, and the Education Specialist for Holocaust Studies for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Join Dr. Klein Kassenoff for a Stories Survive program exploring her family’s journey of perseverance and escape.
A $10 suggested donation enables us to present programs like this one. We thank you for your support.
Stories Survive is made possible by the Goldie & David Blanksteen Foundation.
Public programming at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act; and other generous donors.
Watch Here: