Fred Voss, at age 92, receives high school diploma

(photo by Ari Lewenstein)

On June 22, 2012, 92-year-old Fred Voss received a high school diploma from Lansing High School, in Lansing, NY, where he had given Holocaust remembrance speeches for more than a decade.  The event marked the end of Fred's public speaking career.  After 27 years of speaking about the Holocaust and presenting a message of tolerance, he retired from his public role because of age and health (we should all have his health at age 92 -- in fact, he lived to age 99!).  Fred is the author of the memoir Miracles, Milestones, & Memories, available at this link.

Video of the graduation itself, including Fred's speech, is available on YouTube, at: http://youtu.be/t4dZsy5NPdQ.

Two television news shows produced stories -- one in advance, one after the event. Many of the links below are dead (as of February 2022), but are kept here as a record of the coverage.

CNYCentral.com, which is affiliated with NBC and CBS

        This story came out before the event, and is a "mini-documentary" of Fred's life

• Direct link to story: http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=768692 (dead link, as of 7 February 2022)
  
• YouTube link:   http://youtu.be/8Tc_gxwFQDQ (last checked, 7 February 2022)

WENY-TV, which is affiliated with ABC and CBS

• Direct link to story: http://www.weny.com/news/local-news/holocaustsurvivorgraduateshighschool06222012 (dead link, as of 7 Feb 2022)

Print stories were produced by the Ithaca Journal and by the Associated Press:

• Ithaca Journal: http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012120622007 (dead link as of 17 August 2012)
  
• The Associated Press
• A good link for reading the story that seems to be available to everyone (not behind a paywall) is: http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/160027185_Holocaust_survivor__92__getting_honorary_diploma.html?page=all (dead link as of 28 August 2017) 
• The story was picked up by at least 30 outlets nationwide, from Maine to Indiana to Texas.  A Google News search in late June 2012 turned up most of them, but as of 24 July 2012 that method doesn't seem to work. A few of the more prominent outlets include
  

• The Wall Street Journal Online: http://online.wsj.com/article/AP494471b6a6f0477eb38b79d52a4c43c7.html (dead link as of 24 July 2012)
• USA Today: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/06/holocaust-survivor-high-school-diploma-/1#.T-ebVbWe5Dg (last checked on 7 February 2022)

German news media picked up the story, as well, particularly in Fred's hometown of Aachen:

• The Aachener Nachrichten, 13 July 2012, http://www.aachener-nachrichten.de/artikel/2560395 (dead link, as of 7 February 2022)
  

(Last updated: 7 February 2022)