The experiences of those who survived the Holocaust were retold last week at two events commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Week.Longtime Brandeis trustee Jeanette Lerman '69 hosted a screening of her documentary The Upside of Anger on April 24. which was followed by a discussion with Lerman and her parents Chris and Miles Lerman, both Holocaust survivors and the subjects of the film.

The next day, Joseph Pell and Fred Rosenbaum, authors of Taking Risks: A Jewish Youth in the Soviet Partisans and His Unlikely Life in California, told Pell's story of his time in a group of Soviet guerillas fighting the Nazis at a Meet the Author event.

Both programs were organized by the Brandeis Holocaust Remembrance Committee.

Lerman's film drew a packed crowd to Rapaporte Treasure Hall. The screening began with a candle lighting ceremony for the victims of the Holocaust, including Christians, the disabled, homosexuals and Jews.

Presenters said the event also memorialized those who have perished in the current genocide in Darfur and whose lives are still in danger.

"We must not only remember the past, but also be aware of what is happening today," Allison Schottenstein '08 said as a final candle was lit.

Lerman's film documents her parents' visit in June 2004 to the dedication of a 15-acre Holocaust memorial and museum in southeast Poland that they had helped to create.

The memorial is located in Belzec, the site of a concentration camp outside of the Lvov camp where Mr. Lerman was imprisoned. Disgusted and disheartened by the

previously neglected condition of Belzec, he said in the film that he was inspired to make sure it would not be forgotten.

An emotional segment of the film featured Ms. Lerman's recounting of her experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp as she walked through the site with her family.

During a question-and-answer session after the showing, Prof. Joyce

Antler (AMST) asked how the couple had maintained such optimism.

"You find yourself in circumstances beyond control," Ms. Lerman replied. "You

were just thrown into a situation you weren't familiar with, and the question is how do you cope with it? We were too young to give up on the hope. The strong desire for life makes a difference."

Mr. Lerman said his participation in the Holocaust museum project is one of the most important things in his life.

"We put together these programs to spread awareness of the past and to spread awareness for future generations," he said.

Tuesday's event featured Holocaust survivor Joseph Pell, who spoke in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium about his memoir Taking Risks with co-author Fred Rosenbaum, the founding director of Lehrhaus Judaica, a Jewish studies school in San Francisco.

President Jehuda Reinharz introduced the speakers and spoke of his high regard for Pell and his wife Eda.

"When I met [Pell and Rosenbaum] about five years ago, I was struck by the fact that they both had this passion to tell this story of anti-Semitism, to teach the next generation of the Holocaust," he said.

Reinharz also said how proud he was of the students who organized the event, and spoke of the importance of their efforts.

Rosenbaum thanked the president and began to tell Pell's story.

After fleeing to the forest in an effort to escape the Nazis, Rosenbaum said the 18-year-old Joseph Pell joined the Soviet Partisans-a group of Russian guerrillas who fought the Germans in the Soviet Union during the war. After the end of the conflict, Pell immigrated to San Francisco, where he became a successful businessman, despite having no business experience beyond trading cattle in Poland.

"This is really a story of Jews rescuing Jews," Rosenbaum said.

Rosenbaum said many joined the Partisans' faction in order to save their lives, noting that two out of every three Partisans survived the war compared to a survival rate of only one out of 10 Jews who lived in ghettos or went into hiding.

Rosenbaum also said revenge played a role in Partisan recruitment. "Many partisans had no qualms about shooting a German soldier," he said.

After Rosenbaum's talk, Pell approached the podium. After a short pause, he drew some laughter from the audience.

"I'm really delighted that so many people came to listen to my spiel," Pell said in a voice quiet and weathered.

Pell said that after years of keeping his story to himself, he decided to share it to preserve the memory of his lost relatives.

"I wanted to write it because I wanted to have my parents', my brothers', my sisters' . names written down someplace," he said.

Pell said many readers had told him of the difference his book made in their lives.

He concluded his short but emotional speech with sage words.

"People always ask me, 'How do I survive?'" he said. "I say, 'One day, one hour, one minute at a time.' That's my story.