Whitehall Community Library's Holocaust Project Visits Los Angeles

The Whitehall Community Library Holocaust Project was able to help celebrate Renee Firestone's 99th birthday while visiting Los Angeles. Firestone is a survivor of Auschwitz and became a well-known clothing designer in Los Angeles. Firestone shows her Auschwitz tattoo number.

The Whitehall Community Library Holocaust Project was able to help celebrate Renee Firestone's 99th birthday while visiting Los Angeles. Firestone is a survivor of Auschwitz and became a well-known clothing designer in Los Angeles. Here, Firestone with her birthday cake.

Firestone answers Jakin and Boaz Cheuvront's questions.

Firestone with Boaz Cheuvront, Jakin Cheuvront, and Creed Cheuvront

At the Holocaust Museum, the group's tour guide was Bernard, whose father was a Holocaust survivor. Bernard encouraged the group to get to know their family's history; his father could never speak of his past without crying, so Bernard never pushed or asked questions. Now that his father has passed, he dearly wishes he had his father's stories.

At the Holocaust Museum, the group's tour guide was Bernard, whose father was a Holocaust survivor. Bernard encouraged the group to get to know their family's history; his father could never speak of his past without crying, so Bernard never pushed or asked questions. Now that his father has passed, he dearly wishes he had his father's stories.

"Oh this woman!! She was so precious," said Cheuvront. Trudy (in purple) and her mother survived the Holocaust due to her mother's sewing skills; she would sew for the Nazis. Her father was taken away and killed before she was born. The Holocaust Project participants were able to sit in on a class Trudy taught, where they learned different embroidery stitching techniques.