Cover of book by Peter George Balint detailing his life story.
SCHENECTADY –The Schenectady Jewish Community Center (SJCC) will hold an International Holocaust Remembrance Day Program on Tuesday, Jan. 27. at 7 p.m. at the Center, 2565 Balltown Rd.,
Peter George Balint, author of The Shoe in the Danube: The Immigrant Experience of a Holocaust Survivor. Balint will share his and his family’s story of resilience and self-discovery, and how it ties into this year’s International Holocaust Memorial Day 2026, which is themed, “Bridging Generations.” The program is free and open to the community.
The theme of “Bridging Generations” is to encourage individuals to engage with the past — to listen, learn, and understand the lessons of the Shoah. According to program organizers, the hope is to build a bridge between memory and now, between history and a hope for the future. Balint’s memoir, beginning at his birth nine months before the end of WWII. His father was killed in the final days before the collapse of the Hitler regime.
Balint describes the aftermath of that event, as well as the earlier flight of the family from Germany to Hungary after Kristallnacht. It also focuses on his mother’s determination to again become a refugee after the war, leaving Hungary to return to her homeland, Germany, before she finally emigrated to the United States at age 51 with her 13-year-old son.
Information may be obtained from the Center, 518-377-8803, or on its website, www.schenectadyjcc.org or www.facebook.com/SchenectadyJCC .
