Educating the younger generation on the Holocaust

The audience that came to hear Holocaust survivor and Hewlett resident Marion Blumenthal Lazan speak filled the Boehm Meeting Room in the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library and was moved to the larger Gold Hall on March 15.

Lazan has shared her story with audiences at schools, synagogues and churches across the world. By the end of 2017, she had spoken about her experiences at 1,868 events. That number has increased since the new year, and she’s shown no signs of slowing down, already making several flights across the country in 2018.

There were roughly 120 people in attendance, many of which have attended other events where she has spoken, and some schoolchildren that had heard her speak at the local schools earlier in the week.

“The story was really inspiring and shocking,” said Hayden Millman, an eighth-grader at Woodmere Middle School, who had heard Lazan speak just a few days before. “I wanted my mom to hear it.”

The street goes both ways. “I just wanted him to hear about what she had to say,” said Kathy Pampalone, gesturing to her son Sebastian, a sixth-grader at the middle school. “I wanted him to learn about the history of it in a way that he could relate to.”

Lazan made a point to say how important it is for young people to learn from those who survived the Holocaust while they can. “Today’s generation will be the last to hear a first-hand account,” she said.

Lazan appeared have made an impression on the attendees, the younger ones in particular. “It was wonderful,” said Sebastian Pampalone of Lanzan’s speech. “I didn’t really understand what [the Holocaust] was until I saw this.”

There were photographs taken by her husband, Nathanial Lazan, documenting their trips, her speeches and the time they spend with people at events. The Boehm Room walls were covered with dozens of photos. “When I took these photos I never had the intention of doing a gallery, it just came to me,” Nathanial said. “I thought maybe people in our community should see what Marion does. I took these so the kids could see Marion and remember her story.”

Nathanial and Marion will be married for 65 years in August, and those sitting near the back may have gotten a quick glimpse into their relationship at the end. Marion mentioned her website, adding that Nathanial handles the technological aspect. As she then references to the website’s “front page,” Nathanial calmly and quietly corrects her, “Homepage, Marion,” he said, as if she were sitting right next to her, without an auditorium of intensive listeners between them.