Renee's reasons for dedicating her life to becoming a "storyteller"

Hey all, Karen here, I want to elaborate on the story of how Renee became a "storyteller." Alyssa briefly mentioned it, but I think it's worth hearing the whole story because it speaks volumes about this amazing woman. After hearing her speak at the Museum of Tolerance we, as a group of 4, were allowed some private time with her to ask questions. I posed the question "how did you begin to tell your story and why? Her response touched my heart more than you can imagine. Renee stated that she was contacted, by phone at home, by a man (she didn't remember his name) who was involved with Simon Wiesenthal and his endeavors to start the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum (The Museum of Tolerance) here in Los Angeles. He stated that they wanted her to come and share her story of survival with the public. Her own words were that she laughed at him and hung up the phone. At the time, Renee was a Professor of Fashion Design, at UCLA, and had a prosperous career and was very content with her life. Two days later she claimed that she suffered from her first ever Holocaust nightmare, waking herself in the middle of the night hearing her own voice screaming "They said it wouldn't happen again, they said it wouldn't happen again." This stunned her. This phone call spurred the memories for her. The next day, while reading the morning paper, she found a story about a synagogue in Los Angeles that had been burned to the ground. She said that from that very minute she knew that her life had to be dedicated to informing the public about the horrors or it would just keep happening. That was 32 years ago and she does not regret the turn her life took. She is proud of what she has accomplished. Now you too can realize what Renee and the many others that share their stories with this generation mean to future generations. But most of all, for me personally, she is a woman I will never forget for so many reasons!!!!