November 5- Stetson Law to honor Veterans Day with World War II Speakers
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Executive Director of Communications
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Gulfport, Fla. – World War II veterans and a Holocaust survivor will speak at Stetson University College of Law Nov. 12 and 13 from 12-1:30 p.m. in Stetson’s Great Hall commemorating Veteran’s Day.
The programs will honor the sacrifices of what has been called “The Greatest Generation” and discuss the events of World War II, warning students to “Remember It or Relive It.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Auschwitz survivor Philip Gans will share his experiences growing up as a Jew in Nazi-controlled Holland and his three-year captivity in concentration camps. Gans’ appearance is sponsored by Stetson’s Department of Graduate and International Programs and the campus chapter of the Jewish Law Student Association.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, The Department of Graduate and International Programs, headed by Stetson Law Professor John Cooper, also will welcome a panel of speakers.
“This is an opportunity for our students to hear firsthand about the experiences of people they have only read about,” Cooper said. “It will be very interesting to hear from speakers who experienced the war from different perspectives.”
Thursday’s speakers will include:
- Retired Federal Bankruptcy Judge Alexander Paskay, an honorary member of the College of Law’s Board of Overseers. Judge Paskay was in the Hungarian Army during World War II. The Germans marched him across Europe, and eventually Paskay turned himself over to British forces. Fluent in several languages, Paskay became an interpreter and worked with the Allies during war crimes investigations.
- Lt. Col. Warren Meyer was a U.S. B-24 pilot who flew bombing missions over Europe in World War II. Meyer also was involved in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
- Casmir Majewski was 10 years old when Soviet forces made him and his family leave their native Poland. The family lived in stables in Uzbekistan before Majewski’s mother died of illness and his father tried to join the Polish Army and was never heard from again. Majewski is the father of Stetson Associate Dean Jan Majewski.
- Peter Klein was a German Luftwaffe pilot who now lives in Pinellas County. He was shot down four times during the war, but never captured as a prisoner of war. He became an American citizen in the 1950s.
Stetson Law Professor Robert Davis, a Commander in the United States Naval Reserves, will moderate the panel and a question-and-answer session.
Post date: Nov. 5, 2003
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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