Martyrdom & Resistance, March/April 1999

ID Transcript mare2504_01 "(Qmrwi APR 14 1999 MARTYRDOM AND RESISTANCE PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM, INC. Vol. 25 - No. 4 ISSN 0892-1571 March-April 1999 - Adar-Nisan 5759 REMEMBER! ! ""11DT"" Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah, 5759: The Last Message of the Century —Stress on Lessons of Holocaust BY ELI ZBOROWSKI CHAIRMAN, INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM This is the 25th Yom Hashoah message we have given for Martyrdom and Resistance, understandable as M & R celebrates its 25th year. More meaningful, however, is the fact that this is the last message written in this century. In our first message, we championed the commemoration of Yom Hashoah on the English date corresponding to 27 Nissan. We take pride in our succeeding in this mission. We also called for Holocaust programming and studies throughout the year. With pride, we note the results. Beyond Holocaust studies on countless campuses and in untold numbers of other classrooms. Some 35 states have Holocaust centers and related facilities. There are Holocaust centers in Europe, Japan, South America, Australia, and South Africa. And we are not even speaking about the remarkable expansion of Yad Vashem. In terms of 2000 and beyond, we approach remembrance with confidence but with accompanying concern. It is nearly 55 years since the end of World War II. Survivors pass from the scene, and the planning and direction fall to others. Hardly a day goes by without a story on plundered bank funds, other ""looted resources, law suits over forced labor, and the like. No doubt these developments are important and justice demands it. However, we worry that these developments not be misunderstood and misinterpreted. A large respectable paper recently carried a column that spoke of the ""Shylock nature"" of these activities. The article that appeared in the current issue of Yad Vashem magazine had the correct stance. STORY OF PLUNDERED GOLD HAS ISSUE BEEN RESOLVED? Has the final chapter of the Holocaust reached its end paragraphs or paragraph? The story of plundered Nazi gold in Swiss banks has been an ever-present story for several years. However, reports now claim that the dispute is ""at an end."" The development was advanced by a deal signed by two major Swiss banks, Credit Suisse and Union Bank of Switzerland. The deal was negotiated last summer providing for $1.2 billion in payments to settle all claims against Switzerland. However, optimism should be tempered, noted critics. The country's central bank, the Swiss National Bank, is not part of the final settlement. The article zeroes in on our concern. The following excerpt is from the article by Itamar Levin, author of the forthcoming The Last Deposit: Holocaust Victims' Accounts in Swiss Banks: ""Another difficult aspect of the struggle over property is the anti-Semitic responses that have occurred. In this matter, it must be stated clearly: anti-Semitism has always existed and always will, with or without excuses. There is nothing more absurd than the claim that the danger of anti-Semitism should stop the struggle to restore stolen Jewish property, looted before, during, and after the Holocaust. Action must be taken, coupled with an awareness of the danger. There can be no struggle more justified, both materially and morally."" INTERESTING, EXCITING, MEMORABLE Having said all this, the challenges of the next century are vast. As the Holocaust becomes more removed in time, we must use all skills — educational- technological to make the lessons of our tragedy more interesting, exciting, and memorable for the next generations. Our growing numbers of supporters in the Societies for Yad Vashem have admirably committed themselves for the next century. The story of Yad Vashem 2001 is more than a plan, more than a fantasy, more than a dream. With their help, it is approaching reality as 2000 approaches. And you will continue reading about these exciting developments inM & R. We have said what follows in varying forms for 25 years, and we say it again in 1999-5759: we trust that no one will overlook the coming Yom Hashoah HOLD THE DATES YOUNG LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATES SPONSORS A TRIP TO POLAND, PRAGUE AND ISRAEL JULY 25 - AUGUST 8, 1999 For more information call Shraga Mekel (212) 220-4304 Kb V'Hagvurah. The worldwide acceptance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah as being observed on the corresponding English date of 27 Nissan continues as a matter of enormous pride for Yad Vashem, Martyrdom and Resistance, and for all other devotees of remembrance. We have seen other holidays and observances — of a religious, communal, or patriotic nature — that have been taken for granted and have thereby lost their intended significance and impact. We insist that Yom Hashoah was meant — and will continue in the next century — for active observance, reflection, and commitment to unending remembrance. The observance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah — this is a legacy of this century, a legacy that survivors and others committed to remembrance will pass on in the next century. YOM HASHOAH: 5759-1999 This year's observance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah, 27 Nissan, is Monday, April 12,1999. Observances begin Monday evening and continue on April 13. The Societies for Yad Vashem and Martyrdom and Resistance urge in strongest terms your attendance at a communal observance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah. Just to name a few, there will be very meaningful observances in New York at the Young Israel of Forest Hills, the Hillcrest Jewish Center, the Youi^g Israel of Hillcrest, the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, the Avenue N Jewish Center, the Ramaz School, and other schools, colleges, and universities. Wherever you are, there is an observance nearby. We cannot list them all, especially outside the Greater New York area. Over the years, however, M & R has had frequent communication with these resources: (Continued on page 9) "