SCRANTON, Pa. — About 650 students and guests were in attendance for the 34th Annual Teen Symposium on the Holocaust.
The two-day event inside the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center hosts 30 school districts. Students listened to firsthand accounts of the horrors endured by Holocaust survivors and those who helped them escape.
"They don't know that it happened. It may not be at the forefront, but they have their thoughts, but it'll be, I think, etched in their minds forever," said David Fallk.
Organizers have held the symposium for the last 34 years, and, unfortunately, as time goes by, many survivors aren't here to share their stories firsthand.
"They're 90 years old now. We're starting to lose them. And if we don't get this story told now, it'll never get told," said Jim Connors.
It's been two years since the symposium was held because of the pandemic, and volunteers say they are happy to be back in person.
"Being with so many of the other young people, actually seeing and meeting the survivors in person, hearing their stories, it adds a whole different dimension to what happened and to the message that we want to give," Fallk said.
"(They) can talk directly, show you their tattoos, show you the scars, and then the liberators what it was like when Eisenhower said to them, 'Tell the people what happened here,'" Connors said.
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