Every artifact in our Museum tells a story. And when an item has been donated by a survivor, we are able to gather their firsthand memories of how it was used, protected, or cherished. Their experiences, reflected through their treasured artifacts, allow us to share powerful lessons with people around the world.
As a child, Peter Feigl recorded his experiences during the Holocaust in two diaries. These diaries were dedicated to his parents who, unbeknownst to Peter, had been arrested and deported to Auschwitz when the Nazis and their French collaborators began rounding up Jews in France. Peter would later entrust these diaries to the Museum.
Join us as we honor Holocaust survivors and hear how the Museum is committed to preserving and disseminating Peter’s story and those of many other survivors through their artifacts.
Above photo: US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of (top row, left to right) Marcel Drimer, Agi Geva, Alfred Münzer, Louise Lawrence-Israëls, Peter Feigl and (bottom row, left to right) Esther Rosenfeld Starobin, Nat Shaffir, Susan Warsinger, Julie Keefer, George Salamon
Featured Guests
Speakers
- Peter Feigl
Holocaust survivor and volunteer, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Peter Feigl was born in Berlin in 1929. His family later fled the Third Reich for Belgium and then France. While Peter was away at summer camp, his parents were deported to Auschwitz and he never saw them again. Peter survived the Holocaust and volunteers at the Museum.
Peter Feigl was born on March 1, 1929, in Berlin, Germany, to Ernst and Agnes Feigl. An only child, Peter grew up in an upper middle class environment and enjoyed family vacations to the seashore. Peter was just four years old when Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany and remembers well the pro-Nazi propaganda taught in schools. When the family, who were non-practicing Jews, moved to Vienna, Austria, Peter was baptized in the Catholic Church in the hope he would be shielded from the virulent antisemitism in Germany and Austria.
In March 1938, after Austria was annexed by Germany, Peter and his family fled to Belgium. However, Peter’s father was arrested as an enemy alien just two months later. Peter, his mother, and grandmother fled to France where they were detained in the Gurs camp until June 1940. The family was briefly reunited in Auch, but Peter’s parents were arrested, deported, and killed in Auschwitz in the summer of 1942. Peter was away at a Quaker summer camp at the time. Peter was then sent to the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, where he received false identity papers. He later escaped to neutral Switzerland and lived there for the remainder of the war.
Peter is now an active volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Susan Goldstein Snyder
Longtime Museum Curator
Susan Goldstein Snyder was a founding staff member of the Museum who met Peter Feigl in 1992 and received a collection of photographs and diaries that illustrated his experiences during the Holocaust as a hidden child.
Susan Goldstein Snyder is a founding staff member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She joined the Museum as a curator after receiving her masters degree from the City University of New York at City College in 1991. During her more than 30-year tenure at the Museum, she was integral in building the permanent collection. Her work includes exhibitions on the ship MS St. Louis, displaced persons camps, hidden children, and the Kindertransport.
In 1992, Susan was introduced to Peter Feigl, at which time she received a collection of photographs and diaries that illustrated his experiences during the Holocaust as a hidden child. This acquisition, Susan’s earliest, began their relationship, which spanned the entirety of her career and continues today.
Event Leadership
Event Chairs
Ilana Ron-Levey Drew Tye Ruby-Howe
Event Committee
Jackie and Bryan Blanken Alex Brill and Johanna Arenaza Melissa and Daniel Eisenberg Julia Feinstein and Markus Weiss Cydney and Michael Fires Morgan and Josh Genderson Emily Heppen Julie and Daniel Kahn Michelle Sara King Eli and Kate Kogan Amy and Jay Leveton David Levey Sam Lipson and Abigail Weiss Amanda and Dan Malakoff Chris McCannell and Ven Neralla Jacob and Alisa Rosenberg Alexis Shklar
Thank You to Our National and Regional Partners and Donors
Builders of the Beyond Our Walls Fund Corporate Partners Founders Society Legacy of Light Founders Society National Patrons United States Holocaust Memorial Council Washington Next Generation Board
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
The Mid-Atlantic regional office serves Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Find out more about past programs and how to contact us.