Sophomore, Junior, and Senior students along with Dr. Greenwald and Mr. Sandler attended a talk at Central Synagogue entitled 3448: A Holocaust Survivor on her Improbable Survival with Central member and Holocaust survivor Sylvia Smoller who was one of the few lucky refugees to escape the clutches of the Nazi extermination machine through the decency of a Japanese consulate officer in Vilnius Lithuania. Her story is exceptional because the vast majority of Jews were not able to get out or find refuge in the United States. As time passes and fewer people are left to tell the story of the 20th century attempt to eradicate the Jewish people of the world this talk was an important opportunity.
Smoller spoke of the mathematical principle called the "butterfly effect" in which the flapping of a butterfly's wings on one side of the world can eventually produce a tornado in another. For Smoller's family it was the decency of one man, Chiune Sugihara who, against orders from his superiors, processed hundreds of visas to help the persecuted escape. Because of that, Smoller, as well as her son, were able to become doctors in the fields of epidemiology, genetics, and psychiatry advancing various medical fields and saving many lives. Smoller highlighted the alarming increase in antisemitism around the world and called on everyone to perform "small decencies" so that they can become a part of one's character and stand up to the "small indecencies" to prevent larger ones from happening.
