University Calendar

Please join the George Segal Gallery for an annual Holocaust Remembrance event. This year's iteration features Motivational Speaker and Holocaust Survivor, Sami Steigmann.

FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC


Sami’s life story is remarkable. He was born on December 21, 1939 in Czernowitz, Bukovina, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire belonging to Romania. Later, it became part of former Soviet Union and today it is in Ukraine. From 1941 through 1944, he was with his parents in the Ukraine at Mogilev-Podolsky, a labor camp in an area called Transnistria. Subjected to Nazi medical experimentation, his life was saved by a German woman when he was dying of starvation. The camp was liberated by the Red Army and he grew up in Transylvania. In 1961, the whole family (his sister was born in 1946) emigrated to Israel. He served in the Israeli Air Force, as a ground crew. In 1968, without knowing the language and with no money, Sami came to the United States alone. He lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he married, divorced and, eventually, in 1983, returned to Israel. However, in 1988, he returned to the United States, choosing New York City as his final home.

Sami is a Motivational speaker, Holocaust survivor and docent at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Through speaking at schools, universities, organizations, media outlets, and more, he is passionate about his role of sharing a fresh perspective on hope, life, and faith. He is dedicated to reach as many young people as he can, nationally and internationally. His advice to the young people: "NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER LOSE HOPE. Enjoy the life you’ve been given. NEVER BE A PERPETRATOR (anyone that hurts another, intentionally and repeatedly, is a perpetrator). But most importantly, NEVER, EVER BE A BY-STANDER. The greatest tragedy in human history, the Holocaust and all the genocides, happened because the world stood by and did nothing. As a bystander, you are part of the problem. He wants you to "BE PART OF THE SOLUTION."