Frydman, then a reporter for what was known as the Dayton Daily News “Women’s Page,” accepted the teacher’s invitation to bring the story of the tragedy to the students.
“You could hear a pin drop in the room as I talked,” Frydman said. “I knew there was a message here that could touch young students, inform them, encourage them to learn about hope and love and yet teach them about atrocities we all could face.”
Frydman helped recruit a network of more than 100 educators in the Miami Valley to establish the Holocaust Education Committee.
She has never turned down a request to talk about the Holocaust or to try to explain the tragedy to students and groups who had an interest in her personal account of those sad pages of world history. Even though the subject matter was somber and very personal for Frydman, she always met each group she addressed with a warm smile.
Renate and her husband, Charles, who met in Dayton, were married for more than 51 years when he died five years ago. Before his death, the couple dedicated the Holocaust Resource Center, which is housed at Wright State University and is officially called the Charles and Renate Frydman Resource Center. The Frydmans are the parents of four grown children and 10 grandchildren.
Continuing her education mission, Renate is now the founder and curator of the “Prejudice and Memory” exhibit, a collection of Holocaust photographs and stories that began as a traveling display. Now it is has found a permanent home at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where it attracts thousands of visitors on a regular basis.
In recent years, she has served on numerous boards, committees, church groups and was among many who helped Beth Abraham Synagogue raise the funds to relocate their congregation to the Sugar Camp site in Oakwood.
In honor of her lifetime of good works, Frydman was presented an honor on Nov. 21, 2009, that she “treasures.”
During Wright State University commencement ceremonies at the Nutter Center that day, Frydman was presented an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
“I have never spread the word and told the story of those who gave their lives in order to be considered for an award or honors,” Frydman said. “We have always done what we do because we love them. We do it because they sacrificed their lives so others can enjoy freedom. We do it to glorify those heroes, our ancestors, who we cherish and we honor.”
Send e-mail to dhuffman@
DaytonDailyNews.com or write to Dale at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409.
Phone: (937) 225-2272.
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