Jesuit school in Connecticut dedicates Holocaust memorial

Fairfield University, a private Jesuit institution in Connecticut, dedicated a bronze Holocaust memorial sculpture titled “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots” on September 10. The artwork by Victoria Milstein commemorates five Jewish Latvian women and girls—Frume Purve, Sorella Epstein, Roza Epstein, Mia-Malka Epstein, and Emma Epstein—who “embodied unshakable courage and dignity in the face of certain death” during a 1941 massacre near Liepāja, Latvia. The sculpture depicts the women huddled together and includes a camera engraved with the message, “The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference. You are a witness.” University President Mark Nemec stated, “This sculpture will serve as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and a solemn reminder of the atrocities of the past.” An endowment fund has been established for its maintenance, and historian Deborah Lipstadt spoke at the dedication.