A Temple Sinai Program — Holocaust Education Week Closing Night — Kristallnacht- Bringing the Rimonim Home: A Personal Restitution Journey with Hannah Lessing
In honour of Closing Night of Holocaust Education Week, Austrian National Fund director Hannah Lessing shares the compelling account of an unexpected and personal act of restitution. More than 75 years after Kristallnacht, Lessing discovered that a pair of silver Torah finials (rimonim) originally owned by her family was included in an Israeli auction house catalogue. Looted by the Nazis from a Vienna synagogue during the massive pogroms that took place on November 9-10, 1938, the finials appeared to have been purchased in good faith as part of a Judaica collection. Lessing will share the story of the discovery of the Judaica and her journey to bring them home to her 92-year-old father, photographer Erich Lessing, the sole survivor of his family. On the 78th anniversary of the Kristallnacht program, this program will explore the ongoing relevance of restitution on a personal, national and global scale, and the lingering impact of the events of Kristallnacht generations later. Hannah Lessing is Secretary General of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria and the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism, as well as the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria. The program will also include a candle-lighting ceremony commemorating the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Closing Night is generously co-sponsored by Honey & Barry Sherman, Apotex Foundation. Additional sponsorship provided by Eleanor and Martin Maxwell, in memory of his sisters, Josephine and Erna Meisels who died in the Holocaust; and by Scotiabank, Bathurst and Sheppard Branch. Neuberger HEW 2016 Holocaust Education Week. Time: 8:00 p.m. To register, please call the Temple Office at 416-487-4161 or programs@templesinai.net. 210 Wilson Avenue.
210 Wilson Avenue.