Peter Sis News Today

People across Europe, Israel and the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day Wednesday to commemorate the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany. The day was created in 2005 by the United Nations to sustain public awareness, which studies show has rapidly declined in recent years. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro shows one creative attempt to educate younger generations.

Its time for our annual mock Caldecott vote!

The most notable picture, middle grade and young adult books of the year, selected by The Times’s children’s books editor.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center will host the 2021 Virtual Festival of Books, online, Oct 7-31. The festival, now in its 16th year, will host a variety of author-led talks over

Nicky & Vera by Peter Sis (Courtesy W.W. Norton and Company); Holocaust-era hero Nicholas Winton, who helped save 669 Czech children from the Nazi invasion. (AP/Petr David Josek, File) When Vera, a young Jewish girl, was growing up outside of Prague in 1938, she had little on her mind besides her grandmother and love of animals. But her blissful childhood would change forever with the emerging crisis brought about by her country’s neighbor, Nazi Germany. When Vera’s parents learned about an...

Susan Faust April 7, 2021 The annual Holocaust Remembrance Day takes on added importance this year when Thursday, April 8, is set aside to recall and renounce genocide. Some folks at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol did not get the “Never Again” memo. One guy sported a “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt inside the building (he was arrested a week later in Virginia), while a woman gave a “Sieg Heil” salute outside. These scenes are shocking. They place anti-Semitism and Arya...

“The Holocaust is a harsh reminder of the consequences of unchecked hatred and the fragility of societies.” Those words, spoken last week by Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, recall how absolutely and completely horrible people can become when a hate-filled, narcissistic leader convinces the masses to abandon humanity. The hate is palpable to visitors of places like Auschwitz-Birkenou, eve...

Embed SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST: Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. And one of its goals is education. A new book by Peter Sis introduces the topic to children ages 6 to 9. The book "Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero Of The Holocaust And The Children He Rescued" tells the true story of the Englishman Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from the Nazis. NPRs Elizabeth Blair has the story. ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: On the cover of "Nicky & Vera," a little girl stands alone on the platfor...