Every Holocaust survivor has a compelling, usually terrifying tale.
Agi Day’s tale began in 1941 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, when she was one year old. When asked how old she was before realizing the gravity of her situation, Day replies:
“Four.
“I’m a child of war, and children of war experience things very differently than children of peace,” Day told the Intermountain Jewish News. “And when children of war are told to do something, they generally do it.
“They understand and have fears. They seem to have a knowledge of that, and they obey.”
Day’s family fled Belgrade ahead of the German occupation. Through Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria they trudged. Agi and her mother eventually made it to Toronto, where life began anew.
Day shared her story on April 15 at the ADL’s 45th annual Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance program at Temple Emanuel. Her plea to the crowd of over 800:
“I would like to leave you with these words by John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. ‘If we cannot end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inherit the small planet and we all breathe the same air, and we all cherish our children’s future. We are all mortal.’
“What I tell my students is that, remember, it doesn’t matter what color our skin is, and it doesn’t matter what kind of hair we have, and it doesn’t matter what kind of religion we practice. We are all human beings and we should cherish that and respect each other.”
Day became a teacher in Toronto before moving to Mercer Island, Wash., near Seattle. Gov. Jared Polis — appearing at this event for the last time as governor — touted the importance of such education.
“Six years ago I signed a law to ensure that every public high school student in Colorado learns about the Holocaust,” Polis said. “Colorado is a leader in this work. The ADL tells us that nationally only 30% of students learn about the Holocaust.
“While we’ve made progress there’s a lot more to be made.”
Polis then presented the inaugural Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education to Dr. Mark Thorsen, a social studies teacher at Ponderosa High School in Parker.
“As we double down on education,” Polis said, “I’m proud that tonight for the first time, we’re going to recognize someone for excellence in Holocaust education, an educator who goes above and beyond to try to bring meaningful, thought-provoking education to his students. He’s truly made a mark in Holocaust education . . . to explore the Holocaust through a lens that emphasizes humanity, empathy and civic responsibility.”
The remembrance event also included a panel discussion with local Holocaust educators.
“Hate hasn’t disappeared,” said Tiffany Williams, a teacher at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey. “When we look at world history, we look at the ADL heat map and the incidents of anti-Semitism, and they’ve been going up.
“We have to constantly remind people what happened, to stop hate.”
Said Todd Hennessy, president of Colorado Holocaust Educators:
“The survivors I first met in Colorado in the 1990s, who gave of themselves to come to my classroom and to my students . . . Some of my students, who are now in their 40s and 50s, still reach out during this time of year to reminisce about some of those survivors. Getting to know those survivors and their history . . . there’s no way that you cannot continue that journey to not forget what took place but also to honor them before, during and after the event.”
Event Co-chair Rebecca Gart made somewhat of a call to arms:
“The Holocaust demands that we remember the past, but it also calls on us in the present to confront hatred and strengthen our own community,” said Gart, a regional board member of the ADL.
“Hope, especially in the face of devastation, is not naïve. It is courageous. It is defiant. The Holocaust did not begin with camps. It began with words . . . with people looking away. We are seeing those warning signs again today. Anti-Semitism did not end in 1945. Memory without action is not enough.”
When the annual program ended. Day was on her way back to Seattle. There are more assemblies for her to address, as she is a member of the Holocaust Center for Humanity Speaker’s Bureau. It is her singular cause. Why?
“So that it’ll never be repeated again,” Day told the IJN. “To basically make sure that we understand that we’re all one, we’re all the same.
“The most important thing is to tell people who have never had that kind of experience . . . not to forget and not to allow this to happen again.”
© IJN 2026
