Martyrdom and Resistance, March/April 2013

ID Transcript mare3904_01 "Vol. 39-No March/April 2013-Adar/Nissan 5773 HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTATION AND MEMORY: PRESERVING THE PAST AND GUARDING THE FUTURE ASYV FIFTEENTH ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION The Education Department of the American Society for Yad Vashem and its Young Leadership Associates held its fifteenth annual professional development conference on Holocaust education. This year's conference was dedicated to the memory of Eli Zborowski, z""l, Founding Chairman of the American Society. Our annual Dinner this year, on November 10th, will also pay tribute to the life of Eli Zborowski. The Association of Teachers of Social Studies/United Federation of Teachers, the School of Education of Manhattanville College, and the Educators Chapter of the Jewish Labor Committee/UFT Jewish Heritage Committee co-sponsored the program this year. Participants in this year's program, which included educators from all five boroughs of New York City and from the tri-state area, received in- service credits for completing the conference. The program also included a display of the educational unit developed by the International School of Holocaust Studies, ""Keeping the Memory Alive"": International Poster Competition. Abbi Halpern, who co-chairs the Young Leadership Associates with Jeffrey Wilf, welcomed the participants and spoke about being part of ""a family built by both the memories of horrible losses at the hands of the Nazis as well as the strength of the blessing of surviving."" Abbi continued: ""Our grandparents have instilled in every generation of the family the importance to carry on the torch that has been passed to us. We must always remember, we must ensure the indelible correct history; and most importantly, together with educators like all of you, we must tell the story and teach its lessons forevermore."" Abbi emphasized how having such close contact with Holocaust survivors has presented her with opportunities to hear survivors' memories, particularly those imparted to her by family members who survived the horrors of this period in history and have now dedicated their lives to ensure the Holocaust victims are not forgotten. She added that ""my husband Jeremy and I pass it on to our children as well, and our eldest daughter Brianna — the 'fourth generation' — has already volunteered to help. She and her siblings are blessed by still having their great-grandparents around them, a unique privilege, experienced by very few. This conference, organized by Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, Director of Education of the American Society, has proven to be a strong vehicle to promote the mission of Holocaust remembrance and commemoration through education over the years. The conference was created in 1999, by Caroline Massel, Founding Top row, left to right: Kimberly Mann, manager of the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme; Barry Levine, ASYV Young Leadership Associates (YLA) member; Abbi Halpern, YLA Co-Chair; Caroline Massel, Founding Chair, YLA; Jeremy Halpern, ASYV Executive Board member; Marlene W. Yahalom, PhD, Director of Education; and Jessica Mauk, YLA member. Bottom Row, left to right: Barbara Wind, Director, Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest; Carolyn Herbst, Past President/Past Chairperson of the ATSS/UFT. ""Through teaching we warn about the consequences of extreme and baseless hatred and prejudice. We educate to promote tolerance in the hope that through our efforts, future generations will make sure that the Holocaust, a low chapter in human history, will not repeat itself."" IN THIS ISSUE Preserving the past and guarding the future 1,12 Six million Holocaust victims remembered 2 Comer of Holocaust history told through innocent's eyes 4 My diary of a Nazi death camp childhood 6 Youngest Holocaust survivors look to next generation 7 Gala of the Young Leadership Associates of the ASYV. 8-9 How Nazis escaped justice in South America 11 75 years alter Anschluss, Nazi 'Shadows"" haunt Austria 12 How the press soft-pedaled Hitler. 13 A Holocaust pageant that was too 'political"" for FDR 15 American Society for Yad Vashem Annual Spring Luncheon 16 Chair of the Young Leadership Associates of the American Society. Kimberly Mann, manager of the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme, spoke about the collaborative efforts of the United Nations and the American Society over the years and the many educational opportunities available for educators on this meaningful and important topic. She encouraged those attending the program to take advantage of these valuable educational opportunities. Carolyn Herbst, Past President/Past Chairperson of the ATSS/UFT, emphasized that this conference is a valuable resource for increasing awareness and sensitivity to intolerance and injustice. In her remarks to the conference participants, she emphasized the importance of learning from the lessons of the Holocaust and applying these lessons to teaching about human rights issues. Carolyn remarked on the challenge of teaching this topic without reducing the topic to numbers and statistics, and emphasizing the human elements of the events — victims, rescuers, perpetrators, and bystanders. Barbara Wind, Director of the Holocaust Council of Greater MetroWest, presented on Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto: Diaries of Emanuel Ringelblum. Our program and theme, ""Holocaust Documentation and Memory: Preserving the Past and Guarding the Future,"" offered educators strategies on how to incorporate Holocaust studies into their lessons plans and curricula to enable students to realize the importance of documenting the Holocaust to meet the challenges of Holocaust denial. The workshop topics complemented the theme of the program: ""Sensitizing Students to Learning about the Holocaust""; ""Using Survivor Testimonies in the Classroom""; ""Using Primary Sources in the Classroom""; and ""Ripples from the Holocaust — Learning About the Second Generation."" This year's program was dedicated to the memory of the Founding Chairman of the American Society — Eli Zborowski. Dr. Yahalom remarked how it was Eli's inspiration and vision to create a Young Leadership division to the American Society and to have members of the second and third generation of Holocaust survivor families work together toward continuing the legacy of Holocaust remembrance by promoting awareness through education as one way of many to honor the memory of the victims who perished. ""For Eli, Holocaust education was a conversation between generations — the prewar generations of Jewish Europe, the generation of the Holocaust victims, and the generations of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, who have accepted the responsibility, obligation and legacy of this mission, to partner with educators like you to preserve and disseminate Holocaust history through programs such as this conference."" Dr. Yahalom also acknowledged the inspirational leadership of ASYV Chairman Leonard Wilf, and how ""through his dedication and commitment to the American Society, we are able to secure, promote, and sustain Holocaust education through our work and through programs such as the Professional Development Conference."" Dr. Yahalom spoke about the ""importance of empowering educators to transmit the lessons of the Holocaust to their students through education. As an institution, Yad Vashem is a symbol of both destruction and rebirth. Through education, these parallel messages are conveyed to the community at large. One of (Continued on page 12) "