Martyrdom and Resistance, September/October 2006

ID Transcript mare3301_01 "Vol. 33-No.l ISSN 0892-1571 September/October 2006-Elul/Tishrei 5767 & i^ ^Jl ^:^ Mm n 1 *f*j§4| f *n & 1 $r ja&.i** « ■»£•:** iWSW* ^ ir^ ir EMEMBRANCF ELI ZBOROWSKI LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD One of Eli Zborowski's most cherished childhood memories is sitting with his father, Moshe, in the comfort of their Zarki home on Shabbat afternoon reading and exploring the pearls of wisdom found in PirkeiAvot, The Ethics of the Fathers. That warm and nurturing weekly interlude came to an abrupt halt in 1942 when the deportations to the death camps began. Soon after, Moshe Zborowski was murdered by the Poles. This thrust Eli, the oldest son, into his first of many lifelong leadership roles. During the war he was a member of the Jewish Fighters Organization, serving as a liaison between ghettos and non-Jewish partisan units. The family, his mother, sister, younger brother and himself survived the war in hiding with the help of righteous Poles. Following the war, Eli met and married the former Diana Wilf, a survivor from Drohobycz, Poland. For 57 years, until she passed from this life in the waning days of 2004, Diana stood by his side and was an equal partner in all his communal endeavors. The Diana Zborowski Shoah Aftermath Research Center at Yad Vashem has been established in her memory. An initiator, a leader and a visionary, Eli can be credited with numerous ""firsts"" in the field of Holocaust remembrance. In 1963, he organized the first United States Yom Hashoah commemoration, an event that carried the endorsement of all Jewish organizations and all streams of Judaism. In 1970, he founded the first umbrella organization for all survivors, The American Federation of Jewish Fighters, Camp Inmates and Nazi Victims. In 1974, he founded Martyrdom & Resistance, the oldest, continuous periodical devoted to the Holocaust. That same year, The Diana and Eli Interdisciplinary Chair for Holocaust Studies and Research at Yeshiva University was established by the Zborowskis. It was the first such academic endeavor. Under Eli's dynamic leadership, the Society was the first among Holocaust organizations to develop a Young Leadership Associates, encouraging members of the third generation to become involved in the Cause of Remembrance. Eli Zborowski founded the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem in 1981 and has served as chairman since its inauguration. In addition, he serves as a member of the Executive Committee of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. The Beit Hakehilot, an education and research center housed at Yad Vashem was sponsored through the gene- (Continued on page 8) DR. MIRIAM & SHELDON G. ADELSON YAD VASHEM REMEMBRANCE AWARD Dr. Miriam Adelson was born and raised in Israel with the shadow of the Holocaust ever-present in her life. Her parents, the Ochshorns, fled Poland just prior to the war. But significant portions of their families, who chose to stay, perished during the Shoah. As Miriam so poignantly reveals, ""I am the daughter of a mother who, when she was a teen, lost almost her entire family. One day everyone disappeared. I grew up feeling my mother's pain."" Miriam recalls that following the war, there was suddenly an influx of cousins in her life whom she had previously not known. Responding to the needs of young family members who lost their parents, the Ochshorns brought them from Europe and helped them to become established in Israel. Dr. Adelson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Genetics from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Following her military service, Dr. Adelson continued her medical studies, graduating magna cum laude from the Tel Aviv University Sackler Medical School. Specializing in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Dr. Adelson became the Head Physician in each of these areas for the Rokach (Hadassah) Hospital in Tel Aviv. Growing up in a poor immigrant family in Boston, Sheldon Adelson went to work at young age hawking newspapers on local street corners, and owned his first business by the time he was twelve. An entrepreneur and a visionary, Mr. Adelson has created and developed to maturity more than 50 different companies, including COMDEX, the world-leading computer exhibition. In 1989, Mr. Adelson purchased the Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, in order to bring Las Vegas to a new phase of business-centricity through the exhibition industry. After the sale of COMDEX to a Japanese company, in 1991 while honeymooning in Venice, Dr. Miriam Adelson gained the inspiration for the theme for a mega resort hotel. Upon their return, Mr. Adelson proceeded with the implosion of the venerable Sands and the construction of the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino. Since its opening, the property has received recognition as revolutionizing the Las Vegas hotel industry, changing the face of Las Vegas and becoming one of the largest hotels in the world. Mr. Adelson's company, Las Vegas Sands, is currently building (Continued on page 9) IN THIS ISSUE American & International Societies for Yad Vashem Tribute Dinner...........1, 8-9,16 The Holocaust survivors' memoirs project................ .. ..4 Remember Romanian Kristallnacht 5 Files uncover Nazis' trail of death .. ...5 Auschwitz survivor broke his silence .6 Recalling Nuremberg............... ....7 Massachusetts couple honored for saving Jews during the Holocaust 10 In pursuit of the desk murderers..... 11 Hungary's Holocaust museum to inaugurate permanent exibit 11 Palestinians admired Fuhrer. ....12 A tale of two stories about anti-Semitism... 13 ▲ Wish ing you a happy and blessed Mew Year! L'Slianali Tevalif "