German city to honor IU professor who fled Nazis

An IU professor who escaped from the Nazis seven decades ago is being honored by his German hometown.

Menahem Pressler is a renowned pianist and a faculty member at IU's Jacobs School of Music.

The 85-year-old was scheduled to receive an honorary citizenship Sunday in Magdeburg, Germany, which his family fled in 1939 to escape from the Nazis. Pressler will receive the honor during a concert he'll perform at the Magdeburg Opera House.

He says his visit to Magdeburg for the honor is "like an act of reconciliation."

On Monday, the son of a Jewish textile merchant will take part in a ceremony in memory of some of his relatives who perished in the Holocaust.