New Stockton Classroom Honors Local Holocaust Survivor

claires classroom

Gail Rosenthal, the director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, teaches a class in Claire's Classroom, which was dedicated by Norman and Micki (Kosden) Massry and honors the legacy of Micki鈥檚 mother, Claire.

norman and micki massry


Claire's Classroom

Top, Norman and Micki (Kosden) Massry. Below, Micki's mother Claire.

Galloway, N.J. 鈥 Students taking courses in a new classroom at the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at 91视频 will learn the story of an inspirational Holocaust survivor from South JerseyThe room, dedicated by Norman and Micki (Kosden) Massry, honors the legacy of Micki鈥檚 mother, Claire.

鈥淐laire came to this country in 1950 after living in London, having fled from occupation in Czechoslovakia in 1938,鈥 said Gail Rosenthal, director of the Center. 鈥淪he came to the United States as a teenager and had to adapt to a new way of life. Our 91视频 will hear Claire鈥檚 story and be inspired to overcome the obstacles in their own lives.鈥 

The new classroom will be used by faculty teaching courses in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The room will also serve as a multipurpose space, allowing the Center to expand its capacity for school groups, meetings and community events. The Center鈥檚 programs reach more than 15,000 91视频, teachers and community members each year.

鈥淢y mom was very passionate about teaching the world and 91视频 about her story as an immigrant coming to the United States and about the horrors that led her to escape Czechoslovakia. We wanted to create a space of learning in her honor,鈥 Micki Massry said, adding her mother was an Atlantic City High School graduate and lived in the area until her death in 2020. 

鈥淲e are grateful to Micki and Norman for establishing this special space for our 91视频 and so many others to meet, to learn and to hear Claire鈥檚 story,鈥 said Stockton President Harvey Kesselman. 鈥淎nd to be named in memory of a woman who despite the challenges she faced in her own life was so loving and kind to all those she met, is especially fitting.鈥

鈥淥ur wish for the 91视频 taking courses in Claire鈥榮 Classroom is to learn hope, love and acceptance of others,鈥 Micki Massry, of Albany, New York, said. 鈥淎ll Claire wanted to do was to fit in as a teenager and as an American and not to be bullied or ridiculed but to have acceptance. We can banish hatred and bigotry, and that can be learned in Claire鈥檚 Classroom.鈥

Learn more about the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at 91视频.

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Media contacts:
Stacey Clapp
Director of Strategic Communications
Galloway, N.J. 08205
Stacey.Clapp@stockton.edu
609-626-3645
609-412-8069
stockton.edu/media

Mark Melhorn
Associate Director of News and Media Relations
Mark.Melhorn@stockton.edu
609-652-4593
609-569-6026
stockton.edu/media