Remembering Holocaust survivor Leo Bretholz: See you soon again, dear friend

Catholic Review ^ | 3/11/14 | Patti Murphy Dohn

[Welchie25]

Leo Bretholz has inspired John Carroll seniors for years with his words of wisdom and courage as he recounted the atrocities that he and countless others endured at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Leo died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, two days after his 93rd birthday.

Most recently, Leo and a number of his friends and associates from the Speakers' Bureau of the Baltimore Jewish Council joined us on February 25 for our annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. Included were personal interactions between small groups of hosting seniors and the survivors, a liberator, and several other special guests, tours, displays, and lunch, along with small group survivor talks, a large group assembly featuring student presentations, music, and a heart-wrenching talk by one of the liberators of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Sharing his story with school groups in the Baltimore area countless times over the past five decades, Leo's biggest fear was that the Shoah stories would die with the survivors. The 2011 documentary "See You Soon Again" conveys the harrowing impact that continually recounting their story has had on Leo and other survivors. We hosted a screening of the film at John Carroll in October of 2012. 2010 John Carroll graduate Meredith O'Connell was featured in the film as she dedicated her Senior Project to keeping Leo's story alive so that no one will ever forget what Leo has called "the worst event in the totality of recorded history."

My school, along with a multitude of other schools and organizations, is strongly committed to honoring the memory of Leo Bretholz and all the survivors of the Shoah by telling their stories to the generations yet to come.

[Guenevere]

Hope we have learned from history, but I fear we haven't....

The Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC is a must visit!