Tommy Strasser Legacy Lecture Series: Circle of Kindness- Linking Generations through Courage

The late Tommy Strasser, Holocaust Survivor, felt so fortunate to have been saved by Raoul Wallenberg that he dedicated his life to acts of kindness, gratitude, remembrance, and education.

In that spirit, this year's lecture will feature the Langleben Family’s connection to their own Holocaust history and the gratitude they feel towards the righteous Ukrainian family, the Palivodas, who risked their lives to save them during the war.

Guest Speakers: Sam Langleben who traveled to Ukraine to meet the family of the heroic people who saved his great-grandmother, grandmother, and her brother. Ruth Horn, Sam’s mother, will also share the impact of this experience on her life.

Presentation in English with Simultaneous translation to French

BIOs

SAM LANGLEBEN

Sam Langleben is the grandson of Lucia Buchwald-Horn z"l and great-nephew of Leon Buchwald z"l, Montrealers whose story of Holocaust survival includes being hidden for months by the Palivoda family in Nhyzniv, Ukraine. He lives in Cote-Saint-Luc with his wife and three children and works as an investment analyst who recently started his own firm.

NATALIIA MARIICHYN

Nataliia Mariichyn is the granddaughter of Katerina Palivoda z"l, whose parents Grigoriy and Mariya z"l were recognized as Righteous Gentiles by Yad Vashem in 1998 for saving the lives of the Buchwald family in Nhyzniv, Ukraine during the Holocaust. Nataliia is a young woman who has a passion for literature and runs her own business.

After a year of living in Montreal, she has recently returned to live in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, to help care for her family.