Debby's parents are Holocaust survivors

Tells the story of her father's war time experiences surviving the Riga Ghetto and Kaiserwald Concentration Camp and his life dedicated to the exposure, deportation, and eventual trial of Nazi War Criminals

Debby is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. Her father Herman was born in Kassel Germany and was sent to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia. Herman was a teen when the Nazis invaded Germany. He survived the Riga Ghetto and Kaiserwald, concentration camp. Debby recounts her father’s story from the perspective of a young teen and discusses how her father’s story has impacted her life.

The Ziering family story as told by Debby is recounted in the Herman and Lea Ziering Archive Center at the Manhattan University Genocide and Multicultural Center in Riverdale, New York. In addition to books and other resources for research, the archive includes artifacts from Herman’s work bringing Nazi war criminals to justice after the war.

Debby co-teaches 8th grade students at SAR Academy in the Names Not Numbers© Program, an oral history film project which enables students to interview Holocaust survivors to learn about World War II and create a documentary. She is also a Facilitator for Safekeeping Stories.

Debby lives in Greenwich CT with her husband. She earned her masters degree in speech-language pathology.

Debby is a member of GenerationsForward, a group of second and third generation speakers sponsored by HHREC. She has presented and spoken with students from 4th-12th grade at public and private schools, including: the Yonkers school system, Eagle Hill (upper and lower school), SAR Academy, Atmosphere Charter School in the Bronx, the Mary Louise Academy in Queens, college students at Iona College and Hebrew University in Israel, and synagogues including Beth El of New Rochelle and Larchmont Temple. She has also spoken about antisemitism at a Westchester rally in Scarsdale NY, and was a featured speaker at the 2025 HHREC Annual Spring Luncheon at Bet Am Shalom Synagogue in White Plains, NY.

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