The friendship between CJS student Lea Heitfeld and her housemate, Ben Stern, has been making national headlines lately. Ben is a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, while Lea, the German-born granddaughter of Nazis, is pursuing an MA in Jewish Studies at the GTU’s Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies. The story of the relationship between these unlikely housemates has been highlighted by a number of national and international news outlets in recent weeks. Below, you’ll find a series of links to recent video, audio, and written pieces about the pair:
- Washington Post (article)
- Public Radio International (radio segment, with article)
- AJ+ -- Al Jazeera Media (video)
- CBS Evening News (video link added, 4/28/17)
- Good News Network (article)
The Spring 2017 edition of the GTU’s Currents magazine features an article about Lea Heitfeld’s work at the Center for Jewish Studies, where her thesis focuses on improving educational engagement with the history of the Holocaust.
Ben Stern’s life is the subject of new documentary film, Near Normal Man.