“Echoes Across Time: Voices of Survival and Lessons for Our Future” Session 3
Wednesday, April 16 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT
“Echoes Across Time: Voices of Survival and Lessons for Our Future”
In collaboration with the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre
As we stand on the cusp of history, the voices of Holocaust and genocide survivors grow more urgent, reminding us of the cost of silence, the value of empathy, and the power of resilience. “Echoes Across Time” invites audiences to explore the critical lessons these testimonies offer—on values, democracy, and the warning signs of oppression. Through monthly episodes, each centered around a survivor’s testimony about their life experiences, this series probes the question: Are we truly listening? Join us as we amplify stories from the Holocaust to Rwanda, Cambodia, and beyond, engaging with survivors, scholars, and advocates who work tirelessly to preserve these legacies and inspire a more compassionate future.
“Generations of the Shoah: Passing the Torch”
Featuring: Esther Toporek Finder, the Founder Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International and President of Generations of the Shoah – Nevada, .and Sharon Buenos of Zikaron BaSalon, who will address the pressing issue of legacy and the vital role younger generations play in carrying forward the memories of the Holocaust. Esther and Sharon will share insights on how remembrance might help combat modern-day hate and antisemitism, encouraging participants to consider how they, too, can be torchbearers in this global fight. This session explores the importance of resilience, community, and the role each individual plays in sustaining the impact of survivor stories.
Tali Nates
Tali Nates is the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC) and Chair of the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF). She is a historian who lectures internationally on Holocaust and genocide education, memory, reconciliation, and human rights. Born to a family of Holocaust survivors, her father and uncle were saved by Oskar Schindler. Tali has been involved in the creation and production of dozens of documentary films, published many articles and contributed chapters to different books among them God, Faith & Identity from the Ashes: Reflections of Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors (2015), Remembering The Holocaust in Educational Settings (2018), Conceptualizing Mass Violence, Representations, Recollections, and Reinterpretations (2021) and The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism (2023).
In 2021 she was part of the 12-member Expert Group of the Malmö Forum, serving in an advisory capacity to the Secretariat of the Malmö Forum on their programme on Holocaust remembrance, education and actions to combat antisemitism. Tali serves on many Advisory and Academic Boards including that of the Contested Histories Initiative, the Interdisciplinary Academic Journal of Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and the Academic Advisory Group of the School of Social and Health Sciences, Monash University (IIEMSA), South Africa.
In 2010, Tali was chosen as one of the top 100 newsworthy and noteworthy women in
South Africa by the Mail & Guardian newspaper and won many awards including the Kia Community Service Award (South Africa, 2015), the Gratias Agit Award (2020, Czech Republic), the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (2021) and the Goethe Medal (2022, Germany).
Esther Toporek Finder is a member of the Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International (GSI) and President of Generations of the Shoah – Nevada
(GS-N), an organization based in Las Vegas for children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. GS-N’s mission is to support the intergenerational survivor community and educate the public about the Shoah and its legacy. Additionally, she is President of the Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada. She has volunteered for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the USC Shoah Foundation interviewing hundreds of Holocaust survivors to preserve their stories. Finder has spoken about Holocaust commemoration, education, and remembrance at conferences, in schools and houses of worship in the United States, Canada, and Europe. She currently is a member of the Executive Committee of the World Federation of the Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants (WFJHS&D) and of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation – USA. Finder serves on the Nevada Governor’s Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust.
Sharon Buenos serves as the Global Director of Zikaron BaSalon, an organization dedicated to Holocaust education and preserving survivors’ testimonies. With a rich background in public service spanning nearly two decades, Sharon has held key roles in various ministries and NGOs, including the Defense Ministry’s Procurement Mission to the U.S. and the Marketing Director position at the OR Movement. Her experience also includes representing the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption in London. As the third generation of Holocaust survivors, Sharon’s commitment to Holocaust education is deeply personal, and she tirelessly works to ensure that the testimonies of survivors resonate across generations.
Upcoming Events in this series:
- May 2025: Legacy of the Ghetto Fighters: Research and Resilience of the Survivors Who Created the GFH
- June 2025: Resisting Rising Antisemitism: Lessons from the USC Shoah Foundation
- September 2025: Srebrenica: Capturing Memories in the Face of Denial
- October 2025: From Tragedy to Healing: Rwanda’s Path to Restorative Justice
- November 2025: After the Genocide in Cambodia: Rebuilding from Devastation
