Second-Generation Holocaust Speaker Shares Unique Story of Missing Licenses Found in Germany
On Wednesday, January 8th, second-generation Holocaust speaker Lisa Salko appeared via Zoom on the HHREC MemoryKeeper Story Hour to present 13 Jewish Drivers’ Licenses, a unique story that chronicles her family’s quest to reclaim their grandfather’s and two great uncles’ drivers’ licenses which had been confiscated by the Nazis shortly after Kristallnacht.
Salko shared her experience that started in 2018 when she traveled with her sisters and cousins to Lichtenfels, Bavaria, Germany. The drivers’ licenses had been rediscovered while the town was digitizing records in 2017. Salko shared with the audience “What started as a trip about reclaiming a part of my family turned into something so much bigger than us.” The program featured archival photographs taken during the Holocaust along with Salko’s personal photos, including the original drivers’ licenses, letters from a Jewish Refugees Committee, and of Salko and her family receiving the licenses from the Lichtenfels Town District Administrator.
“I’m grateful to be sharing my personal story with you,” said Salko. “ It’s an important story; one of discovery, reflection, reconciliation, and hope. It is extremely relevant given the rise of antisemitic occurrences in our country today, throughout Germany and Europe.” Salko also emphasized the importance of “a remarkable group of Upstanders.” and shared what they did to educate their community in Lichtenfels about the Holocaust and the importance of Holocaust remembrance.
Salko has served as a consultant and appeared in a short documentary film 13 Drivers Licenses’, an internationally acclaimed, award-winning film directed by Ryoya Terao, a Documentarian and Professor at NYC College of Technology/CUNY. The film has won over 30 awards worldwide.
Salko is a real estate professional at Benerofe Properties Corp., a real estate and private equity investment firm based in White Plains, NY. She is a member of the HHREC GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau, which is composed of second and third-generation children and grandchildren of Holocaust victims and survivors who share their family stories. She has presented 13 Drivers’ Licenses at synagogues, libraries, educational symposiums, and middle and high schools; at Manhattanville University, Baruch College/CUNY, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the German Consulate in New York, the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in NYC, and Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel. This past March, she appeared as the keynote speaker at the HHREC High School Human Rights Institute at Iona University.
HHREC is planning to continue its MemoryKeeper Story Hour series in the coming months. Visit https://hhrecny.org/inspire_events/ for more information about events they plan to offer.