On February 1, 2003 the Columbia Space Shuttle (STS 107) crashed leaving no survivors of its crew. One of the seven crew was Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, who had carried with him a small Hebrew Torah Scroll (The Pentateuch). The little Torah Scroll did not survive the crash. In Cincinnati, Holocaust Survivor Henry Fenichel, had a “sister Torah” similar to the one Ilan had taken into space. At the request of Rona Ramon, Ilan’s widow, Henry’s Torahwas taken into space on STS-115 Space Shuttle Atlantis in September 2006. Dr. Fenichel will discuss this story as well as provide the origin of the little Torahs and their connection to two child survivors of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.
Henry Fenichel is a member of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center’s Coppel Speakers Bureau. A child survivor of the Holocaust, Henry’s presentations typically center on his and his family’s experiences during the war.On August 23, this will be the first time Henry has shared the tiny Torah in spacestory on the Holocaust Speaker Series. This is a unique opportunity to hear a lesser known story, one that is an incredibly moving and illustrates the importance of remembrance and resilience.
