OUR COMMUNITY

T

he Holocaust
Memorial Center
(HMC) is holding a
virtual event, “Stolen Voices
with Zlata Filipovic,” at 3
p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3.
Filipovic is the author of
the international bestseller
Zlata’s Diary, co-editor of
Stolen Voices: Young People’s
War Diaries from World War
I to Iraq and a documentary
filmmaker. She grew up
under one of the longest
sieges in modern-day history
in her native city of Sarajevo,
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
She speaks around the
world about her experiences
and has worked with
organizations such as the
Anne Frank House, the
United Nations and UNICEF.
Attendees will hear the
fascinating story of her
wartime childhood, the
publication of her diary, and
how they led to her current
engagement with human
rights and storytelling.
Sarah Saltzman, HMC
director of events and public
relations, says the mission
of the HMC is to engage,
educate and empower the
community by remembering
the Holocaust, including
focusing on programming
for Holocaust-related topics,
such as recent or current
genocides.
“Inviting Zlata Filipovic to
speak about living through
wartime as a child in

Sarajevo reminds us of the
horror of all wars,” Saltzman
said. “Her diary shows us the
importance of having a first-
hand account of the tragedy.
She was an eyewitness to
death, but she never lost
hope. In this sense, she is
just like teenager Rywka
Lipszyc, who wrote the diary
featured in the museum’s
current special exhibit, “The

Girl in the Diary: Searching
for Rywka from the Lodz
Ghetto.”
Filipovic will be attending
the virtual event from
Dublin, Ireland, where she
currently lives.
“I’ll talk about how life
changes when suddenly a
very peaceful childhood
turns into a war childhood,
the story of the publication
of my diary, the value of
writing and the help it
offered me. I will also bring
people up to date in terms
of my other work that I’ve

done,” Filipovic said.
“Stolen Voices,” which
Filipovic edited, is a
compilation of young
people’s diaries throughout
the 20th century, starting
with a diary of a young
12-year-old German girl
during WWI and finishing
with the diary of a teenager
in Iraq in 2006.
“Unfortunately, it’s a

kind of book that could
continually be updated with
more diaries as young people
around the world continue
experiencing conflicts,”
Filipovic said. “It works
with the exhibit the HMC
has about a teenage girl’s
diary about her life under
Nazi rule in a ghetto, so the
idea is seeing resilience and
seeing different experiences
of young people across the
20th century who decided to
keep a diary at such a time.”
Filipovic has done
many talks in association

with Holocaust memorial
organizations and centers
and says it’s always a pleasure
to return and talk about the
similarities and differences
of experiences. She hopes
the attendees can learn more
about those experiences.
“I hope it will deepen
their understanding of a
young person’s experience
of conflict,” Filipovic said.
“I hope it will kind of put
a bit of flesh onto history
and, particularly if there are
young people attending, I
hope it’s something where
they can see the power of a
personal story.”
After Filipovic shares her
experiences, attendees can
submit questions via the
Q&A button on Zoom.
Saltzman said, “We hope
attendees will be encouraged
to think about ways
they can make a positive
difference in the world,
whether by donating to a
cause they deem important,
sharing their voice in their
community or before elected
officials, or standing up for
their neighbors.”

To register and donate the suggested

$10 donation, go to holocaustcenter.

org/events/upcoming-events.

HMC event links author-fi
lmmaker
with ‘Girl in the Diary’ exhibit.
Through Young Eyes

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

26 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021

Zlata Filipovic

DRAGANA JURISIC