ID Transcript
mare1103_01 "rtb 2g m mmi mmw umm m* 9 4. •• MARTYRDOM AND RESISTANCE Newsletter for the American Federation of Jewish Fighters, Camp Inmates, and Nazi Victim*, Inc. Vol. 11 - No. 3 Jan.-Feb. 1985 — Tevet-Shevat 5745 Survivors: Strength Through Unity By ELI ZBOROWSKI (founder and honorary president, American Federation of Jewish Fighters, Camp Inmates and Nazi Victims) Discussions, planning, and preparation for a united survivors' organization reflect the metamorphosis of the role of survivors in both the Jewish community and in public life. The first survivor groups were formed for purposes of friendship and fraternity. With family and friends murdered during the Holocaust, the survivors needed identification with those who had undergone similar experience — if only just to talk to and commiserate with. Not surprising, therefore, that when survivor organizations were formed, with members and officers, they included those who had come from a common town, ghetto, camp, or, in some cases, a region or country. Perhaps the first and certainly most meaningful activity of these groups was a commemoration or observance, of the liquidation of a ghetto, an uprising, or the like. As time went on, the survivors realized that they could make a meaningful contribution in conveying the lessons of the Holocaust for the present generation and for the future. They then initiated educational projects designed to inform the world of Jewry's most tragic days. They also became vigilant and spoke out when acts or signs of anti-Semitism appeared. It became apparent that the survivors had an important mission to accomplish that went beyond socializing with those from a common town or ghetto. And so, fifteen years ago, a new organization was created: the American Federation of Jewish Fighters, Camp Inmates, and Nazi Victims. This was established as an umbrella group. In other words, the existing survivor groups remained, continuing their projects and activities, but under the roof of the American Federation. The accomplishments have been many. Foremost has been the fixing of the corresponding English date of 27 Nissan for the commemoration of Yom Hashoa. This has been accepted world- Ma rtyrdom and Resistance Completes 10-Year Index A major resource tool in Holocaust education and research is being made available, with the compilation of an Index to the first 10 years of Martyrdom and Resistance. The Index is accompanied by microfiche for the 10 years, from Sept. 1974 - June 1984. The Index-microfiche will be offered to individuals, libraries, and institutions at a minimal fee. Further details will be announced shortly. ""Remembrance is still the keyword of Martyrdom and Resistance, according to Eli Zborowski, editor-in-chief. ""If we learn and remember, the tragedy of the past will hopefully never be repeated. The Index is in accord with this theme of remembrance. We hope it will be used by students and scholars, as they continue to explore our darkest days."" Compiled by Dr. Harvey Rosenfeld, editor of M&R, the 76-page Index has more than 3,000 entries, divided into a Subject Index of 51 categories. The Index also includes: Book Review Index, Poetry Index, and Movie Index. wide. In connection with Yom Hashoa, tens of thousands of booklets, posters, and other materials have been distributed to synagogues, Jewish community centers, colleges, and a host of other groups. An exhibition from Yad Vashem was commissioned; 2,000 exhibit copies, with hundreds of thousands of accompanying booklets, were distributed throughout the U.S. and in other countries. In addition, Martyrdom and Resistance was founded and has developed as a major international periodical on the Holocaust, the longest running such publication. The first interdisciplinary chair on Holocaust studies was set up at Yeshiva University. And the list goes on. It is now 40 years since liberation. Throughout that time it has become obvious that thousands of those liberated, the survivors, wTere unaffiliated, not part of any formal survivors group. The reasons are not to be explored here. However, the Gatherings in Jerusalem and Washington of survivors and their families attracted w7orld attention, and, more important, they brought together thousands of survivors who were uninvolved organizationally in terms of their belonging to any survivor group. Benjamin Meed, president of the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization, together with Sam Bloch, president of the World Federation of Bergen-Belsen Survivors, were instrumental in making the American Gathering the success that it (Continued on Page 9) United Survivors Hold Its Inaugural Assembly In Phila., April 21-22 In 1981, it was Jerusalem; in 1983, it was Washington, D.C.; and in 1985, it will be Philadelphia, Pa. — the survivors will once more come together to share memories, analyze the present, and set an agenda for the future. April 21-22 will mark the inaugural assembly of a fully united Jewish Holocaust survivors roof organization, according to Benjamin Meed, who is organizing the program. ""It has been 40 years since the liberation from the Nazi death camps,"" he said. ""The survivors of the Holocaust were reborn in freedom. We rebuilt our lives with dignity and with a commitment to the future of the Jewish people. It is, therefore, appropriate that we meet in Philadelphia, the setting of American freedom."" Projected highlights include ceremonies at Philadelphia's monument to the six million Jewish martyrs; ceremony at Independence Hall, site of the signing of the U.S. Constitution; a dinner commemorating the 40th year of the liberation of the Nazi death camps; a cultural program; art exhibition; a session featuring the Second Generation. ""Our solidarity with the State of Israel"" will be a special concern of the assembly, senior vice chairman Sam Bloch remarked. Growth of Yad Vashem Seen on West Coast The continued, dynamic growth of Yad Vashem as evidenced by its international support and cooperation was dramatically seen in Los Angeles with the announcement of the formation of a West Coast chapter. The glittering setting was a Beverly Hills Tribute Banquet, Jan. 22, honoring Otis Chandler, chairman of the board and editor-in-chief of the Times Mirror Company. Yad Vashem was joined in sponsorship by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles-Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust. In announcing the establishment of the West Coast chapter, principal speaker Dr. Yitzhak Arad, chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate, called attention to the remembrance authority's ""partners and supporters from all over the world."" Dr. Arad added: ""The task of remembrance has to be undertaken by the generation that survived the Holocaust. For this purpose we have founded the International Society for Yad Va^ shem. There are local branches in the major cities in this country. We have received a most positive response from Jewish communities. ""It depends on our generation, whose responsibility it is to see that the Holocaust will not be forgotten, and its lessons will serve as a warning to humanity of the consequences of hatred, anti- Semitism, and racism."" Yad Vashem's major projects include ""The Valley of the Destroyed Communities,"" a memorial to the 5,000 Jewish communities destroyed by the Nazis when they overran 22 countries in Europe; a 24-volume comprehensive history of the Holocaust; a monument memorializing Jewish armed fighters during World War II. My Illustration from ""Pessach Haggadah in Memory of th© Holocaust,"" being published for the benefit of the International Society for Yad Vashem. (See page 2) "
