Researching Holocaust profiles beneath white stars

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando will present local Holocaust author and educator Holly Mandelkern at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, 851 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, on Tuesday, April 5, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Mandelkern, who is also a poet, will talk about researching lives of individuals for her upcoming book, “Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Poetry.” She conducted similar research for “A Portrait in Poetry: Writing From the Testimony of Roman Kent,” which will appear in the spring 2016 issue of Prism: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators from Yeshiva University.

Mandelkern will share her knowledge about those who survived and those who were killed in the Shoah. In “Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Poetry,” she pays tribute in her narrative poetry and short histories to individuals whom she has known or whose stories she has taught.

Since 1991, she has lectured at the Teachers’ Institute of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida and at other venues in the community. Mandelkern’s poems have appeared in journals of the National Council of Teachers of English, the Gwendolyn Brooks Writers Association of Florida, and the Florida State Poets Association.

Prior to the program, starting at 6:30 p.m., there will be time for anyone who wishes to network and to receive free consulting assistance or mentoring from a Jewish genealogy expert.

The meeting is open to the public. Admission is $5 for nonmembers, and can be applied to membership dues. Anyone may join JGSGO. Annual dues are $35 for an individual and $40 for a family. For those who live 50 or more miles from Maitland, dues are $30. For more information visit our website, http://www.jgsgo.org , “like” us at http://www.facebook.com/jgsgreaterorlando or call us at 407-494-4230.