History
Over time, the history of actual events can become distorted, challenged, and even forgotten. Zachor means “to remember” and the ZACHOR Holocaust Remembrance Foundation was founded to ensure the events that took place during the Holocaust are never forgotten.
Founded by Ben Lesser, a holocaust survivor who began speaking about his firsthand experiences in 1995, the foundation is dedicated to educating future generations. Ben later went on to write a book “Living A Life That Matters – from Nazi Nightmare to American Dream” that tells the story of his experience fighting for his life in concentrations camps before finally being liberated from Dachau.
Dachau Survivor
Not only was Ben a Dachau survivor, but he survived his time in 3 other concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Durnhau, and Buchenwald.
When Ben was only 15 years old he was separated from his family and taken by cattle car to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ben fought for his life while being transferred to and from concentration camps. He survived marching for weeks straight during the Death March only to be transferred from Buchenwald less than 24 hours later and forced to board a train that would take him to Dachau, which would turn out to be the deadliest train ride in history.
When Ben was finally liberated he was one of only 18 Dachau survivors out of the 3,000 that boarded the Death Train.
A to Z Program
Ben has traveled from coast-to-coast with one goal: to tell his story. He has stood in front of youngsters, college students, professionals, spanning schools, synagogues, churches and more. When he speaks, he educates anyone who will listen about the atrocities of the past and creating tolerance for the future. But time is running out. Survivors, including Ben, are nearing the final act.
Now is the time we look to you. The Survivors need your help. Help us fulfill our mission and join our A to Z (Ambassador to ZACHOR) program. The lessons we learned from the Holocaust are endless. But it is we do today that ensures that we never forget.
Online Education
Ben has recently expanding his educational experience to an online learning environment. His goal is to share his story with as many schools as possible using his online lesson plans that include his written experiences, as well as historical picture, videos, an interactive timeline, student activities, and even an interaction A.I Q&A link to ask Ben questions directly. The ZACHOR Holocaust Curriculum was created as a free resource with educations in mind.
Help Ben progress his goals of ensuring the events of the Holocaust will never be forgotten. We cannot do this alone. We need your help.
