Martyrdom and Resistance, May/June 2001

ID Transcript mare2705_01 "ii ii 1 a Drp'n MARTYRDOM AND RESISTANCE PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM, INC. Vol. 27 - No. 5 ISSN 0892-1571 May-June 2001 -lyar-Sivan 5761 Yad Vashem Ceremonies Build for Remembrance Two ceremonies at Yad Vashem in the days preceding Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah focused attention on the commitment to remembrance at the Remembrance Authority. On April 11 inaugural ceremonies were held for the New Building of the International Institute for Holocaust Research. On April 16 the Family Plaza and Sculpture were dedicated. The Family Plaza and Sculpture were endowed by Ruta and Dr. Felix Zandman in memory of their families martyred during the Holocaust. Ceremonies were held in the presence of the Zandmans; Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert; Avner Shalev, chairman, Yad Vashem Directorate; Eli Zborowski, chairman of the Societies for Yad Vashem; and artist Menashe Ka- dishman. The Family Plaza is located between the International School for Holocaust Studies Building and the Archives and Library Building. Menashe Kadishman won the Israel Prize for Art in 2000. A member of Yad Vashem's International Board of Governors, Dr. Zandman is chairman and chief executive officer of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., named after the ancestral home of his family in Lithuania. When the Germans surrounded the Grodno Ghetto in 1943, the family decided against hiding their young babies for fear that their cries would endanger the family. Dr. Zandman's grandfather, Nahum Frejdowicz, chose to stay with the babies and was killed along with his young grandchildren. Dr. Zandman is the only grandchild of Nahum Frejdowicz to have survived. The sculpture is inspired by that story. DANEK GERTNER ENDOWS FACILITY The new building housing Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research was officially inaugurated. The facility was endowed by Austrian philanthropist and survivor Danek Gertner in memory of his late wife, Jadzia. The New Building, with its expanded premises, will advance the scope of worldwide Holocaust research. Constructed in the framework of the Yad Vashem 2001 Masterplan, it will accommodate all of the related divisions of the International Institute for Holocaust Research, including Yad Vashem's Publications Department and the Yad Vashem Studies Department. Attending the ceremonies were former Prime Minister Ehud Barak; Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate; Prof. David Bankier, head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research; Eli Zborowski, chairman of the Societies for Yad Vashem. Born in eastern Galicia, descended from a rabbinic family, Mr. Gertner survived through resourcefulness, hiding among corpses in a cemetery. He has authored a book on the destruction of the Jews of the East Gali- cian communities of Kosow and Zabie. The facility will enhance Yad Vashem's reputation as the world biggest research and information repository for information on the Holocaust. Worldwide Observances Held on Yom Hashoah Attain the Peaks of Intensity, Participation One year into the new millennium, fifty-six years after the Holocaust: Holocaust remembrance is as vigorous as it has ever been. This was clearly evidenced in the observances of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah 5761- 2001. Programs and ceremonies were held 27 Nissan, Wednesday, April 18, and Thursday, April 19. Observances began Wednesday evening, April 18. Continuing a development that is more apparent every day, the expressions of anxiety and awareness — in word and print — that the numbers of survivors are declining, were voiced by those who organized the observances. For that reason, programs were highly successful in enlisting survivors as principal speakers. The participation of survivors offered compelling proof that there is no more effective resource for remembrance than that of a survivor. Very visible this year — once again — was the leadership and direction provided by the second and third generations in planning and chairing the programs. President Bush Is the Speaker At the Washington Ceremonies The observances were influenced by three anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the Adolf Eichmann trial; the 60th anniversary of Babi Yar; the 60th anniversary of the escalation of atrocities. The multitude of themes were in view: the courage of those who resisted the Nazis and their collaborators; the martyrdom of the 1.5 million Jewish children; the Vatican and the Holocaust; the humanity of the Righteous Among The Nations; the pursuit of justice against Nazi war criminals; the continued vigilance against anti-Semitism worldwide, especially on the Internet; the ongoing development concerning plundered bank funds, art, and other resources, and the resolution of payments to survivors and their heirs. With a new Washington administration, questions were raised about its commitment to issues of payments and remembrance. While perhaps not a defined answer, President Bush spoke with poignancy about the Holocaust at the Capitol Rotunda and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. In its coverage of the Capitol ceremonies, C-SPAN reported the President's remarks about the victims who knew it would be ""...the last time they would say the Shema Yisrael"" The President also observed that the Nazis represent those who ""fear only the power they cannot possess: the power of truth. So they resent the living example of the devout, especially the devotion of a unique people chosen by God."" (Continued on page 6) Israel Remembers Past: Atrocities and Heroism The observance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah in Israel had a clear direction of remembering the past and being vigilant in the present and future. This year's theme was coupled with the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The theme focused on the 60th anniversary of atrocities: From Persecution to Mass Murder 19%1, a Turning Point in the Fate ofJeivs during the Holocaust. As in past years, the central ceremony was at Yad Vashem, Israel's Remembrance Authority, in the presence of Israeli President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; and Prof. Szewach Weiss, chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, who lit the flame of remembrance. All speakers stressed the importance of remembering, the need for Israel to be strong and for the Jewish people to be united so that the Holocaust is not repeated. The Israeli President spoke of ""Operation Bar- barossa"" of June 22,1941. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, ""The signal was given"" to carry out the Final Solution. ""The shock and the horror still pursue humanity,"" he said ""and the Jewish people will continue to do so."" He stressed the importance of learning from the lessons of the past: ""Memory, heritage, and commemorating the horrors of the Holocaust are not enough.... (Continued on page 8) . BUILDING FOR REMEMBRANCE — At Yad Vashem ceremonies: LEFT — Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1), with Danek Gertner, benefactor of the New Building of the International Institute for Holocaust Research; RIGHT — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (r), shown with benefactors of the Family Plaza and Sculpture, Ruta and Dr. Felix Zandman "