In remembrance of the millions of Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War II, Holocaust survivor Peter Pintus will give a lecture tonight at 8 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

The presentation, “The Holocaust Remembered: A Survivor’s Story,” is sponsored by the ISU Committee on Lectures and Hillel, the Jewish student group at Iowa State.

The lecture coincides with Yom Hashoa, the Jewish remembrance day for the Holocaust, which lasts from Wednesday to Thursday evening.

Adam Oris, president of Hillel, helped to schedule the discussion.

“My goal both last year and this year was to make sure we brought in a Holocaust survivor to speak,” Oris said. “I want everyone to have the opportunity to see a Holocaust survivor speak so that the memory lives on.”

The discussion will begin with an introduction by Oris, followed by a speech by Pintus, and the night’s events will end with a question-and-answer session.

Pintus was born in Berlin to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, Oris said. Since his mother was not Jewish, Pintus was able to “hide behind his mother” to avoid being sent to the concentration camps.

At the age of 15, after his mother committed suicide, Pintus was forced into the Ellis labor camp in Germany. He then spent three years at Ellis before escaping with a friend to Berlin, Oris said.

In the early 1970s Pintus was ordained as a minister, but he has since converted to Judaism.

The Jewish student group has also sponsored speeches by Holocaust victims during past remembrance days. Another survivor, David Fishel, spoke last year, and Oris said he hopes Pintus’ speech will be just as powerful and emotional as Fishel’s.

“From what I have heard, he is a very good speaker,” Oris said, adding that the lecture will focus on Pintus’ experiences as a Holocaust survivor and how it has affected his life.

ISU biology professor Barbara Pleasants has hosted speeches by Pintus in her University Studies 385 class, which addresses the Holocaust.

“[Pintus’] story is a very interesting one,” Pleasants said. “I think it’s very important for Holocaust survivors that their stories be heard. Soon there won’t be any living witnesses, and it is important for young people to learn what prejudice can lead to.”

She added that with past Holocaust Remembrance Day survival events hosted by the Memorial Union there has been substantial turnouts.

“It is a sad and difficult story, one of millions of such stories. A lot of the stories will never be told because the people died,” Pleasants said.

Oris said the Pintus’ speech will be a wonderful opportunity for everyone. “I just hope not a lot of people pass it up,” he said.

In addition to the discussion tonight, Pleasants said, a community Holocaust memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 200 Lynn Ave.