LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
For most children, hide and seek is a game played with friends. For Holocaust survivor Ruth Kapp Hartz, hiding was no game; it was life and death in occupied France.
The guest speaker at the Langley Air Force Base Days of Remembrance ceremony April 28, 2014, Hartz told U.S. Airmen what life as a Jewish child was like, living hidden in cellars and convents to avoid Nazi collaborators and Gestapo.
The speech marked the culmination of the Days of Remembrance events which began April 27 and runs through May 4. Days of Remembrance events are held across the nation to commemorate the Holocaust. At Langley Air Force Base, events included bi-weekly showings of movies related to the Holocaust, such as "Band of Brothers" and "The Pianist."
A Remembrance Run was also part of the program, and at the run as well as the speech by Hartz, attendees were given yellow Stars of David with numbers on them, corresponding to the number issued to Jews during World War II. People were encouraged to match their number to a board, where the name, photo and fate of someone involved in the Holocaust was listed.
"It is a way for people to connect with the event, and put a face on the people who went through it," said event organizer Master Sgt. Jaclyn MacKinley, Air Combat Command Detachment 4 knowledge operations superintendent. "We want to learn from the past, not forget it."
MacKinley was just one of the people involved in organizing the event, and she said they are always seeking new volunteers each year.
"To make this event a success takes volunteers, and I thought it sounded interesting, so I did it and I'm glad I did," she said.