English Department
Henia (Henny Wisgardisky) Lewin was born in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, in January 1940. On June 22, 1941, Nazis invaded Lithuania, and Henny and her family were forced into the Kovno Ghetto, a district where Nazi occupiers concentrated the Jewish population. Her family story models resistance and resilience in the face of unfathomable brutality. Henny was recognized with a Covenant Award as an Outstanding North American Jewish educator in 1997. Among the last living Holocaust survivors, Henny’s mission is to speak regularly to student and adult groups, advocate for Holocaust history in schools, and intervene against contemporary antisemitism.
