Holocaust survivor to share story in Forsyth County this week

Justine Lookenott

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Holocaust survivor Esther Basch will be speaking at an event in Forsyth County on August 23Photo byForsyth County Government

(Forsyth County, GA) August 24 is officially “Peace, Goodness and Kindness Day” in Forsyth County in honor of a Holocaust survivor who will be speaking this week at the Forsyth County Arts and Learning Center (FoCAL).

Esther Basch, 95, lived through the Nazi occupation of her hometown in Czechoslovakia as a teenager and was later sent to Salswedel concentration camp to work in an ammunition factory when she was liberated days later by American soldiers. For months after that, she and other women lived in the previous German soldier’s living area and gained the nickname “the Honey Girl of Auschwitz” when she took a large jar of honey from town.

Today, she travels around to tell her story and speak about her experience.

The Forsyth County commissioners made the proclamation during their regular meeting on August 17.

Commissioner Todd Levent read the proclamation, which stated that “Peace, goodness and kindness day is dedicated to highlighting the positive potential of important unifying human principles to promote and spread peace, do good deeds and be kind to one another to build a more compassionate community and bring people from all walks of life together.”

Basch will be telling her story at a sold-out event of about 1,800 people at FoCAL this Wednesday, August 23. The event is a project of Forsyth County Schools, Chabad of Forsyth, Congregation Beth Israel and FoCAL.

For more information, visit jewishforsyth.org.

If you have a news tip in Forsyth County, contact Justine Lookenott at justine.lookenott@newsbreak.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @justalookenott.

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I cover local news in Forsyth County, GA. My debut into the writing world began at the age of 10 when I won an essay contest in Around Acworth Magazine in which I wrote about spending the summer with my pet goat, Eclair. Since graduating from Kennesaw State University, I have been published in several newspapers and magazines in the Atlanta area including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta School Guide, What Now Atlanta, Newcomer Magazine, the Marietta Daily Journal and the Cherokee Tribune.

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