Generations Speaker Series: Lee Kikel

In the decade before his arrival in the United States in 1950, Mieczyslaw (Melvin) Goldman saw his home destroyed, his family torn apart, his health ruined, and nearly everyone he had ever known murdered in the death camps of the Third Reich. His survival of the years in the ghetto and Auschwitz, his long and slow recovery, and his attainment of a somewhat normal life were miraculous. Perhaps even more miraculous was his refusal to let his experience destroy his faith in God or his love for humanity.

Over five years, his daughter, Lee Goldman Kikel, worked to turn her father’s story--a telling of his life through a series of recorded audio tapes--into a book recounting the tragedy and hope of one survivor’s experience. The book, Perseverance, was published in 2019. Lee will share her father’s story during this new installment in our Generations Speaker Series.

Lee grew up in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where she spent her early years at Wightman School, Taylor Allderdice High School, and her parents’ jewelry business. She later earned her BS in Psychology and master’s in Education from the University of Pittsburgh and worked in the mental health field as a rehabilitation counselor. A lifelong Pittsburgher, she resides in Hampton Township with her family.

This event is part of the 2022 RADical Days, an annual program of the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD). The Holocaust Center of Pittburgh is proud to receive RAD funding.

This program will be hybrid, in-person and livestreamed. You will have the option to register for in-person or livestream attendance.

In-person attendance is capped at 50 people; those planning to attend in-person must register in advance to ensure their spot. Registration for in-person attendance will close at 12pm ET on Wednesday September 28 or when tickets sell out; no walk-ins. Please note our covid policy below, and that food and drink are not allowed in Eddy Theatre.

Those who register for online attendance will receive the link to their inbox prior to the event.

All in-person attendees will be required to be fully vaccinated. This means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible. For those individuals who are not vaccinated, you will be required to obtain a negative PCR test no more than 72 hours prior to arrival at the event venue. Proof of vaccination or negative PCR test will be checked at the door.

All attendees will also be required to wear high-quality masks, KN95 or comparable; this policy will be strictly enforced. Appropriate masks will be provided at the door if you do not have your own.

Failure to abide by these guidelines will result in being turned away or removed from the event.

We take the safety of each of our patrons very seriously. We reserve the right to modify these policies and procedures at any time given the rapidly changing nature of the current global pandemic.

Host or Publisher Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh