Through My Grandmother’s Eyes

The Veit Simon Family during the Holocaust

Courtney Doi will share the story of her grandmother Judith Klein, the youngest of six children, who left Berlin, Germany on the Kindertransport in December 1938 just after Kristallnacht.

Judith’s father, grandmother, two aunts and two of her siblings died in concentration camps. Judith passed away in 2016, and Courtney inherited 30 years of her personal journals. Featuring old family photographs and firsthand accounts from her grandmother’s writing, Courtney’s presentation will explore both Judith's journey out of Germany as a teenage refugee and her extended family's experiences across Europe during the war. In addition, Courtney will discuss her own travels back to Germany to further understand her family history and how we, as individuals, can work to prevent genocide in the future.

Courtney Doi is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. She is a member of the N.C. Council on the Holocaust and the Holocaust Speakers Bureau for The Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education of North Carolina. She works as an Academic Director at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill. She lives in Mebane, NC with her husband, two daughters and their dog.

This program is presented as part of the programming associated with the exhibit, Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries, on display at Mullins Library on the University of Arkansas campus from November 10-December 18. Please visit https://uark.libguides.com/AATH for more information on this exhibit and accompanying events.

Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is made possible by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. It was made possible by the generous support of lead sponsor Jeannie & Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners — Joan & Allen z”l, Elisa Spungen & Rob, Nancy & Jim; and Jane and Daniel Och. The Museum's exhibitions are also supported by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund, established in 1990.

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