National WW2 Museum hosts International Holocaust Remembrance program tonight

The National World War II Museum will once again host the memorial for the Holocaust at its U. S. Freedom Boeing Pavilion tonight, beginning at 5 p.m.

Manuel “Manny” Gabler. (Photo by David Sherman/Transfer of Memory)

Following a reception, Holocaust survivor Manfred “Manny” Sigmund Gabler will be interviewed by Museum Senior Oral Historian Hannah Dailey and share his experiences as a child refugee in China.

A little known chapter of World War II, the city of Shanghai was home to nearly 18,000 undocumented Jews fleeing Nazi persecution between 1937 and 1941. Being an open port, Shanghai offered refuge, but many could not find transportation away from there to America or other more friendly locations. 

Like many others, Gabler and his family settled in the city’s Hongkew district, a one-square-mile, unwalled ghetto was established to house the growing refugee community. Gabler was just a year old when his parents arrived in Shanghai on the eve of World War II. He will share his memories of growing up in the Shanghai ghetto, his experiences as a child during the war, and his family’s eventual journey to the United States.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemorative Program is sponsored by Taube Philanthropies as part of the Taube Family Holocaust Education Program.