On the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Sunday Jan. 26, The New York State Museum in Albany will offer in conjunction with its ongoing cxhibit, “Holocaust To Haven, Sanctuary At Fort Ontario,” a talk featuring Paul Lear, retired site manager of Fort Ontario, and Ann Allen, author of Holocaust Refugees in Oswego: From Nazi Europe to Lake Ontario from 11 a.m. – noon in its Huxley Theater.

The
free program, moderated by Aaron Noble, senior historian and curator of political and military history at the museum, will review the lives of the 982 mostly-Jewish refugees who found temporary sanctuary behind the barbed wire of Fort Ontario in Oswego.

Fort Ontario, was the only shelter in the United States established by the federal government to protect Holocaust refugees during World War II.

Those seeking shelter there were interned for about 18 months at the end of World War 11.

After the talk, attendees will be invited to visit the museum’s exhibit, “Holocaust to Haven,” which tells of the lasting legacy of the sanctuary and features artifacts.