Herman Chasnow (1908-1997) was born to a peasant family in a village in eastern Russia. As a boy, Herman immigrated to America with his family to escape pogroms and in hope of a better life. Raised in Newark, NJ, Herman became a lawyer and businessman, married and raised a family. He was profoundly affected as news of the Holocaust spread during the latter stages of the war and its aftermath and upon learning that nearly all of the Jews perished from the area of his village. As he grew older, his revulsion of the Holocaust did not slacken but an interest was kindled in wanting others to learn about it and struggle with its causes and meaning.

His son, Robert, a partner at Holland & Knight, and Robert’s wife, Linda, have funded the Herman Chasnow Memorial Scholarship and wish to express their gratitude to “this extraordinary Holocaust education and scholarship program for high school students throughout the United States.”

Robert continues, “My wife and I are inspired by the longstanding commitment of the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation to honor the millions of Jewish lives brutally ended by the Holocaust through scholarships to young Americans who have demonstrated their empathy, leadership and skill in this important area. We have stepped forward to fund the Herman Chasnow Memorial Scholarship as an enduring legacy to my father’s quest for historical remembrance of these untold innocent victims and to create a link with this evening’s recipient of the scholarship, doubtless a young person of singular promise.”

With its initial sponsored scholarship, the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation is honored to entertain further expansion of its scholarship program.

Recipients of the
Herman Chasnow $5,000 Memorial Scholarship:

Courtney Sender (2005)

Maxim Pinkovskiy (2004)