BE YOU. ALWAYS.

Holocaust Education and Remembrance

ABOUT OSKAR

ABOUT OSKAR.

Oskar has spoken to over a million students and community members spreading the voice of tolerance and respect. He now welcomes you to learn from his website and support his cause to stop bullying and become an UPSTANDER.

Oskar's need to tell his story so that the Holocaust is never forgotten also extends to encouraging you to find time to smile and laugh every day. Oskar has endured not only surviving the Holocaust but also losing a wife and two of his three children to cancer. It is truly amazing to see a person who has gone through such tragedy still find joy and hope in humanity.

This photo is of Oskar's happy family of five before the war. He is the young "whippersnapper" on the left along with his big brother, Siegmund, big sister, Ilse, and wonderful parents, Leopold and Rosa.

"I had a fulfilling and quite memorable childhood until in 1933 when at the age of eight, my life was shattered by the onset of Nazism. Hitler spread propaganda that Jews were a horrible, dirty, and evil race. My family was none of these and this photo is a reminder of that which makes me very happy."

Oskar has 74 immediate and extended family members who were murdered during the war including his father, only months before their liberation. Oskar and his siblings escaped the sub-camp, Pomorska, on January 18, 1945. Eventually, Oskar stopped using the word, "hate", and has become a beacon of hope and an inspiration to live your best life because as he says, "You only have one life; don't waste it."

Tomorrow will be a better day. Never give up!

- Rosa and Leopold, Oskar's mother and father

Biography

VISION STATEMENT

Ensure that all youth have self-empowerment to be Upstanders for themselves and others' beliefs, differences, and goals for an inclusive future generation striving for diversity and equality.

Mission

PROJECTS.

Oskar has had the privilege of being a part of special projects created to preserve the memory of survivors and the history of the Holocaust.

LIFE MASK

Artist, Robert Sutz, has focused his array of talents full-time to create life masks and pastel portraits of Holocaust survivors. They are intended as an archive and a way for future generations to connect with the faces of those who survived. Life masks will be included in the future Hilton Family Phoenix Holocaust Education Center.

HOLOGRAM

Oskar is the subject of an interactive hologram exhibit currently housed in the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and in the future Hiton Family Holocaust Education Center. When asked questions by the audience, Oskar—in the form of a pre-recorded screen projection—provides answers in real time. Oskar is grateful his experiences and lessons will live on through this unique technology.