Live Online Policy Forum 

# What My Grandparents’ Experience in the Holocaust Taught Me about the First Amendment 

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Date and Time 

October 14, 2021 12 - 1 PM EDT 

Location 

Live Online 

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##### Featuring 

![jd-Stras-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-10/jd-Stras-cropped.jpg?itok=O44zxZ6v) 

Hon. David Stras 

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

![e-volokh-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-09/e-volokh-cropped.jpg?itok=uCS_hUw0) 

Eugene Volokh 

Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA

[![Ilya Shapiro](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ilya%20Shapiro.jpg?itok=m1_rdWBG)](/people/ilya-shapiro) 

[Ilya Shapiro](/people/ilya-shapiro)

Former Vice President and Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

Freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion are at the heart of liberty. For hundreds of years, people have flocked to the United States to escape religious persecution and censorship. Judge David Stras joins us for a special address, reflecting on how his grandparents’ harrowing experiences during the Holocaust shaped his own beliefs on these precious First Amendment freedoms. Following his address, we will be joined by nationally renowned First Amendment expert Eugene Volokh, himself an immigrant, to discuss these issues as well as the recent rise in anti-Semitism in the United States. We hope you will join us for this timely discussion and look forward to your engaging questions.

## Additional Resources

- [A Road to Freedom](https://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/faculty/Somin_HIASMemoir.pdf) by Ilya Somin

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