Soon, the responsibility of keeping alive and sharing the stories and lessons of the Holocaust will fall completely to the next generation—the children and grandchildren of the survivors. The Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest NJ, a department of Jewish Federation, is committed to keeping alive these stories and is offering a unique workshop, “Keep Talking,” to help second- and third-generation survivors tell and honor their family legacies.

Featured speaker Jack Hersch, author of “Death March Escape: The Remarkable Story of a Man Who Twice Escaped the Nazi Holocaust,” will present his father Dave Hersch’s harrowing story, along with how he prepared to share it. In Jack’s book he “digs deeply into both his father’s life and his own, revisiting and reflecting on his father’s time at the hands of the Nazis…”

Ilyse Shainbrown, the Holocaust Council’s director of education, will lead this seminar to show next-gen survivors how to prepare their own parents’ and grandparents’ stories to share at schools, synagogues, churches and throughout the community.

“The survivors in our community have worked tirelessly telling their stories to schoolchildren, religious groups and anyone who wants to hear from them,” Shainbrown said. “It terrifies us to think what will happen to these stories once there are no longer any survivors left to share them. That’s why it’s imperative that the children and grandchildren pick up the torch and keep the stories alive after the survivors are gone.”

This workshop will be held on Monday, August 12, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Aidekman Jewish Community Campus, 901 Rt. 10, Whippany. It is free and open to the public, but registration is strongly encouraged. To register, visit www.jfedgmw.org/generations or contact Jamie Carus at [email protected] or 973-929-3194.