Martyrdom & Resistance, May/June 2007

ID Transcript mare3305_01 "Vol. 33-N ay/June 2007-Sivan/Tammuz 5767 MERICANSOC Over 200 people attended the American Society for Yad Vashem Annual Spring Luncheon, in tribute to a Woman's Legacy: Not by Might, Not by Power, But with Love, held on Thursday, May 3, 2007 at the Park Avenue Synagogue. This year's Luncheon was made especially meaningful by the active participation of many members of the third generation, who expressed their commitment to carry the torch for the Legacy of Remembrance. Adina Shainker Burian, Young Leadership Associate Board Member and this year's Spring Luncheon Chairperson, led the way for members of this new group. Yonina Gomberg, granddaughter of Gladys Halpern and member of the third generation, introduced Gladys Halpern of Hillside, New Jersey, who received an award recognizing her Resistance and Courage in the Face of the Holocaust and her Commitment to Pass the Lessons and Legacy of the Shoah to her children and grandchildren. Mrs. Halpern, a Holocaust survivor, is active in numerous Jewish communal organizations. Since its inception, she has been a member of the American Society for Yad Vashem Spring Luncheon Committee and a member of the Annual Tribute Dinner Committee. Her husband, Sam Halpern, is the Vice Chairman of the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem. Gladys's involvement in philanthropic causes and her efforts to enhance the lives of the Jewish people, both in the United States and Israel, is seen through her support of Israel Bonds, Yad Vashem, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Jewish National Fund (JNF), Hadassah and numerous other American and Israeli Jewish organizations. Rita Levy of Roslyn, New York was presented with an award recognizing her dedication to Remembering the Past and her commitment to use her creative talents to further Holocaust Awareness and Education by Julie Schwartz Kopel, a Young Leadership Associate Board Member and member of the third generation. Mrs. Levy is deeply committed to Israel, Holocaust Remembrance and Jewish cultural preservation. Her father, Nathan Katz z'l was a Member of the Board of the American Society of Yad Vashem and the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors. Mrs. Levy and her mother, Sima Katz, were founding members of the International Women's Division of YIVO. Rita was a founding member of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation Working Women's Forum and has served on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Brandeis-Hillel Day School. In addition she is active in many other American and Israeli organizations. ""MAY YOU EACH GO ""M'CHAYIL L'CHAYIL"""" ELI ZBOROWSKI, CHAIRMAN OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM Committee Chairperson, Elizabeth Wilf; Luncheon Chairperson, Adina Burian; Guests of honor Gladys Halpern and Rita Levy, and Dear Friends: At our first Spring Luncheon seven years ago, we honored the noted Holocaust scholar Professor Nechama Tec. At that time, Prof. Tec talked about gender differences during the Holocaust. She said that men and women traveled different roads to their final destination. While husbands and fathers were the first to suffer public humiliation and instant death, mothers and wives struggled to keep their starving families away from death. Together, men and women, and each in their own way, demonstrated enormous resilience and courage. Ultimately, however, one's ""Jewishness"" rather than gender was the determining factor in annihilation. It is not surprising that following the war, survivors sought mates who had shared this horrific life-experience. Who else, other than another survivor, could possibly understand what we had been through? In marriage, we forged partnerships that produced families and created 2007 Spring Luncheon Honorees Gladys Halpern and Rita Levy with Eli Zborowski, Chairman of the American Society for Yad Vashem. Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City, May 3, 2007. new lives in new lands. While husbands and fathers went out to make a living, wives and mothers became the backbone of family and communal life. It was the women that enabled families to flourish and the tenacity of these partnerships that made possible the establishment of formal organizations for commemorating the Shoah. This afternoon's program is a celebration of successive generations of women IN THIS ISSUE The American Society for Yad Vashem Spring Luncheon 1, 8-9 Yom Hashoah observed around the world 2,7 Resisting the Nazis despite the odds 5 The secret life of Britain's Ann Frank 6 To be a woman in the Holocaust 10 Holocaust exhibit in France a vital lesson 11 How one man can make a difference ...12 The crimes of I.G. Farben 13 Teaching of Holocaust must focus on ugly truth 13 Holocaust survivor died saving students' lives.... 14 Ambitious Nazi counterfeiting plot recalled by Holocaust survivor. 15 engaged with our organization in Holocaust remembrance. The survivor generation is represented by Elizabeth Wilf, this year's Committee Chairperson and last year's honoree, and by Gladys Halpern, whom we are privileged to honor today. As a mother, grandmother, great- grandmother and a person who has lent her vitality to numerous communal organizations, Gladys is a role model for her family and for all women. Since its inception, Gladys and Sam Halpern have been active with the American Society for Yad Vashem. Gladys owes her survival to a Christian family who hid her and her mother during the war. As an expression of gratitude, the Halperns who are Yad Vashem benefactors supported the refurbishment of Yad Vashem's Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations Rita Levy is a member of the Second Generation, whom we are delighted to honor today as well. She is the proud daughter of survivors Nathan Katz, z'l and Sima Katz. Nathan and Sima are outstanding examples of the partnership of which I just spoke. They rose from the ashes of the Holocaust to build a life for themselves and their family in the United States. While the German Nazi war machine annihilated most of their extended family, it could not rob* the Katzes of their basic value system. Perseverance, optimism and acts of chesed which were ingrained in them before the war are the values that they have ably passed along to their children and grandchildren. Rita has enthusiastically embraced her parents' legacy and is committed to its perpetuation through her children. For the first time this year, members of the Third generation, represented by our Young Leadership Associates, have taken a prominent leadership role in this luncheon. We are grateful for the dedication of Caroline Massel, Chair of the Young leadership Associates; Adina Burian, Luncheon Chair; and Yonina Gomberg and Julie Kopel, Luncheon Co- Chairs. Our choice of a Guest Speaker was also informed by our desire to be future-oriented. Kevin Haworth is part of a cadre of gifted young writers in their thirties and forties who have chosen to explore Holocaust themes in their work. We are pleased that Kevin accepted our invitation to share his thoughts and reflections with us this afternoon. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Rachelle Grossman, our Events Coordinator who, together with the staff, is responsible for the Luncheon arrangements. On behalf of the American Society for Yad Vashem I thank all of you for participating in this wonderful event. I conclude by extending a heartfelt mazel-tov to Gladys Halpern and her family and to Rita Levy and her family. May you each go ""m'chayil I'chayiV from strength to strength. (Coverage continues on pages 8-9) -j "