ID Transcript
mare2105_01 "©IBffV J UN 2 8 1995 Vol. 21 - No. 5 ISSN 0892-1571 May-June - lyyar-Sivan 5755 Yom Hashoa V'Hagvurah in Israel Celebrates 50 Years of War's End, Defeat of Nazis CENTRAL CEREMONY IS HELD AT YAD VASHEM It began on Yom Hashoa V'Hagvurah, continued through Israeli Independence Day-Yom Ha'atzmaut, and ended on May 9 — some two weeks of 50th anniversary remembrances and celebrations: the end of World War II and the defeat of the Nazis. Six-remembrance filled days were sponsored by the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem: the Yovel 50th Anniversary Celebration Program. As in past years, the central ceremony was at Israel's Remembrance Authority, Yad Vashem, in the presence of Israeli President Ezer Weizman, and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The flame of remembrance was lit by Dr. Joseph Burg, chairman of the Yad Vashem Council. Other participants at the ceremonies included Israeli Chief Rabbi Ysrael Meir Lau, liberated at Bu- chenwald at age 7, who spoke on behalf of the survivors, and Sam Skura, who represented the Societies for Yad Vashem. The passing of 50 years has offered the opportunity to better understand the Holocaust, according to the Israeli President. For example, there was the realization of heroism. ""We understand that in these days of terror,"" said the President, ""even obtaining a piece of bread for a child in the ghetto was an unparalleled heroic deed. Today, we rightly pair the words 'Holocaust' and 'heroism' without attempting to separate the two."" For the future, Mr. Weizman warned of anti-Semitism, racism, and revisionism. ""We are witnessing a broad ongoing discussion regarding the horrors of the period and their meaning. This is a multi-faceted discussion involving historians, psychologists, political scientists, doctors, philosophers, and artists. It is a blessed discussion since it strengthens us both as individuals and as a society. It also serves to negate the trends of Holocaust denial which we are witnessing today."" Much of the Prime Minister's remarks were directed to and about survivors: (Continued on page 8) RESERVE THE DATE Sunday, Nov. 5,1995 Eleventh Annual Dinner of the American and International Societies for YadVashem New York Hilton Hotel PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY YAD VASHEM SOCIETIES The Yad Vashem Societies celebration of the Yovel Program began on May 4, to rejoice in Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. Fifty years later, the shearit hapleita have expressed gratitude that they have survived. But that can not be said of the flourishing Jewish communities that were destroyed and are no more. This was the motif for a program, also on May 4, in the Valley of the Communities, titled ""50 Years Later .... We Remember."" It was illustrated in a video The World That Was and amplified in the remarks of general chairman Eli Zborowski and chairmen Sam Skura and Sigmond Strochlitz. Also taking part were the international co-chairmen David Feuerstein, Latin America; Ben Helfgott, United Kingdom; Marcos Katz, Mexico. Cantor Asher Heimowitz and Ruth Levine offered a musical program. A well-planned series of programs on May 7 highlighted a day at Yad Vashem: visiting the Remembrance Authority, ceremonies at Ohel Yizkor, and a tribute at the Partisans Monument. The yo,rel celebrants heard a historical perspective by Prof. Yehuda Bauer. Mark Palmer chaired the program and Joseph Wilf; Doris Gross and Abraham Zuckerman were co-chairs. The chairmen and co-chairmen, respectively, at Ohel Yizkor were Joseph Bukiet and Marvin Zborowski and Shmuel Erner and Henry Major. On the program were: representing Yad Vashem — Avner Shalev, chairman; Reuven Dafni, deputy chairman, and Ishai Amrami, general secretary; representing the Societies for Yad Vashem — Eli Zborowski, chairman, David Feuerstein, Latin America, Marcos Katz, Mexico, Ben Helfgott, United Kingdom, Fred Weiss, Illinois, Sam Halpern, New Jersey. Taking part in the ceremonies were: Henry Major, Meyer Goldstein, Mark Palmer, Isidore Karten, Shmuel Erner, and Murray Pantirer. Mr. Pantirer reflected on the historic nature of the programs. ""This is a small victory for us survivors,"" he said — ""small in that we renew friendships with old friends, small in that we are alive, but not a large victory because six million perished."" (Continued on page 9) Prime Minister Rabin addresses Yom Hashoa ceremony at Yad Vashem. Yom Hashoa: Record Numbers Mark 50th Whether one speaks of it as 50 years, the passing of five decades, the jubilee year, or the celebration of yovel, — the fact remains that the combination of commemorating the war's end, the liberation of the death camps, or the defeat of the Nazis was responsible for an unprecedented number of Yom Hashoa observances the world over. Yom Hashoa V'Hagvurah 5755-1995, was observed on 27 Nissan April 27. Attention was focused on Israel's Remembrance Authority, at Yad Vashem. In the U.S., the participation of President Clinton drew world attention, at Madison Square Garden. Notable programs were celebrated at the Capitol Rotunda and in statehouses and at county levels across America. In addition to the 50th year motifs, programs dealt with Jewish resistance against the Nazis and their collaborators, the 1.5 million martyred Jewish children, the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, and the honoring of Righteous Gentiles. Understandably, camp liberators were very evident as participants and honorees this year. SURVIVORS ARE CENTRAL The sobering thought of 50 years gone and fewer survivors on the scene gave added meaning to the centrality of survivors at these observances, as well as the leadership of second generation and third generation in both planning and speaking at these programs. However, in this 50th year motif, it was the survivors who bore witness that gave a stirring immediacy and emotional tone to the observances. President Clinton sprinkled his remarks at Madison Square Garden with Biblical allusions, ""We must remember those years,"" he said, ""as though it were a commandment."" The evils of those days ""must be remembered, and it must be opposed."" With more than 40,000 educators being trained to teach the Holocaust in American schools, the President was optimistic about the future. ""This is our task,"" he said, ""making memory a guide for our actions."" ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER RECALLS ""For us this is a day of tears,"" said Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. ""But the weight and enormity of the suffering have been followed by an Israel, where ""never before have there been so many Jews in the Land of Israel."" Sounding a theme he articulated at the Buchenwald rites, Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau spoke of remembering but not forgiving. ""I am not authorized to forgive,"" he insisted. Relating to contemporary events, Benjamin Meed, president of the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization (WAGRO) and American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, which organized the program, commented, ""The dead, the wounded and especially the children will be seared in our memories for a long time. Terrorism, killing, devastation are constantly in the air."" The greatgranddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adriana Mendoza, was featured at the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the camps, sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council at the War Memorial Building. President Eisenhower visited and reported on the conditions of Ohrdruf, a subcamp of Buchenwald, in April, 1945. (Continued on page 6) "