Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Holocaust Survivor

Miriam Klein Kassenoff is a child survivor and Holocaust Educator who fled Kosice, Slovakia, as a small child in 1941 via Lisbon Portugal, in open hiding and on the run along with her parents and infant brother, the late Federal Honorable Judge Ted Klein.  She is the Founding Director of the Teacher Institute on Holocaust Studies for the University of Miami’s School of Education. She has participated in extensive studies at Yad Vashem’s International Center for Holocaust Studies and is the creative founder of the “Screening The Holocaust Film Series “in cooperation with The Miami Jewish Film Festival in Miami, Florida.  

Dr. Klein Kassenoff is an appointee to the Florida Education Commissioner’s Holocaust Task Force. As the Education Specialist for Holocaust Studies for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, she is responsible for all staff development and Holocaust teacher training for Miami-Dade County’s Public Schools. She is a member of the USHMM Council of Holocaust Centers. 

A leading speaker on Holocaust Education at conferences and workshops nationwide, Dr. Klein Kassenoff was in past years chosen as one of the “Outstanding Pioneer Women” in Miami-Dade County, and Miriam has also been honored by the Miami Dade Women’s History Coalition with the “Woman of Impact Award”. 

Recently she completed work as Education Consultant for the PBS/WLRN-Miami’s landmark film, The Last Witness of Treblinka, in cooperation with the eminent Holocaust Scholar, Dr. Michael Berenbaum. She was also one of the select Holocaust Educators chosen to preview and help suggest curricula ideas for Warsaw’s Museum of the History of Poland’s Jews. In addition, Dr. Klein Kassenoff was selected by special appointment of the Miami Consul General of Germany to represent South Florida for a groundbreaking tour of “Jewish Germany Today”.  

Miriam Klein Kassenoff is an author, writer and lecturer on an array of Holocaust topics, including “Women in The Holocaust” and “Literature of The Holocaust.” In 2016 she was named recipient of the “Tikkun Olam Award” by the Haitian Holocaust Refugee Project.  

In October 2019, Miriam was honored in Pittsburgh PA with “The Lifetime Achievement Award” given by Classrooms Without Borders, in commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue’s “The Tree Of Life” anti-Semitic terror attack. 

That same year she was given a Special Tribute by The Florida House of Representatives for her work on behalf of the Jewish Community of Florida and on June 22, 2022 The Miami Beach Commission honored Miriam by proclaiming the day as “Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff” Day. In 2024 Miriam was honored as an outstanding Holocaust educator by the Miami Dade County School Board.