Martyrdom & Resistance, September/October 2007

ID Transcript mare3401_01 "Vol. 34-No.1 ISSN 0892-1571 September/Octobi And You Shall Tell Your Children (Exodus 13:8) in^7D 72Y] CECILE AND EDWARD MOSBERG Yad Vashetn Remembrance Award m* I was born in Krakow, Poland. I had a set of parents, two sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. When the war started, I was thirteen years old. We were thrown out of our house and sent to the Krakow Ghetto. Then we were sent to the Plascow Concentration Camp, Mauthausen Concentration Camp and Linz. I am the only survivor of my family. I lost my whole family. In 1944, my two sisters and one of my wife's sisters were transported from Auschwitz to Stuthof. In 1945, they were shot and thrown into the Baltic Sea. The next day was liberation. My father had been killed in a round-up in 1941. My mother was sent to Auschwitz in 1944, and at the same time, my wife's younger brother was taken in the same transport. They were both killed in a gas chamber, and then were sent to the crematoriums. During the summer, people were transported in enclosed cattle cars, and during the winter, in open cattle cars, so that the weather could add to the already tragic and horrific conditions. In the extermination camp Belzec, located in the eastern part of Poland, I lost sixteen members of my family. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were murdered there by the Nazis. Luck was the component which was how anyone survived. You consider yourself lucky if you had a job. I was a strong boy and not afraid to try anything. I worked in many jobs. I worked in Mauthausen Concentration Camp in the stone mines. There I had to climb 186 steps down and up, carrying a boulder. If you stopped for a moment, they either shot you or they pushed you off the cliff to your death. On May 5,1945 at the end of the war, the Nazi guards told us that they wanted to help us. They claimed that the Americans were coming, and the Nazi guards wanted to save us. They marched us to caves in the mountains, which were set up with dynamite. It never went off. That is how I survived, and am alive to testify to these atrocities, which were perpetrated on our families and the six million Jews of Europe. After the war, when I found out that I was really the only survivor in my family, I decided to utilize the health care opportunities. I was physically very sick. I was sent to a hospital in Italy for eight months for treatment and rehabilitation. Upon returning to Krakow, where my girlfriend (soon to become my wife) and her father were, we decided to move to Belgium. We got married there. (Continued on page 8) IN THIS ISSUE Yad Vashem Annual Tribute Dinner............................................ ....„.,.,......1, 8-9,16 wGUCll Ivdw Wvl II1 m\A Ivl - lv 1 IVi Ivl w*J ■ « iiiiniititiiiini ■ « • ■ • i»ii«iiini<iiiiii*ii *<■-■*• tiiiiitfitfiiiiittkitii ■»■■■■ ■ w Facing a grim reality in Austrian town ...............5 Saved by a saint in a tank ........6 A nation's tost Holocaust history, now on display. ..7 Yad Vashem is the recepient of Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.. .......10 Story of the Warsaw ghetto...... 11 French priest uncovers horrors of Holocaust in Ukraine 12 Jews of Ispas: Where the truth lies?..,. 13 Holocaust diary of Polish Anne Frank 14 Holocaust center gets Kacztner's archive.............. 15 MATTHEW BRONFMAN Yad Vashem Young Leadership Remembrance Award Matthew Bronfman learned of the horrors of the Holocaust at a young age. The deep impression this made upon him led to a commitment that the world must never forget nor repeat those darkest moments of history. Matthew has dedicated himself to instilling younger generations with an understanding of the lessons and legacy of the Holocaust. Advocacy for humanitarian causes is part of the Bronfman family tradition. Matthew's father, Edgar M. Bronfman, was the President of the World Jewish Congress for more than two decades and the 1997 hon- oree of the American & International Societies for Yad Vashem. Following in the footsteps of his father, Matthew has become a key leader in the Jewish communal world. He was recently elected as Chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress, where he chairs the Budget and Finance Commission and is a member of the Steering Committee. The World Jewish Congress is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. By building consensus between groups, it works to act as a diplomatic envoy for the worldwide Jewish community. Matthew joined the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y in 1991; chaired the Capital Campaign from 1997-2002; served as President from 2000 to 2003; and as Chairman from 2003 to 2006. He currently serves as Chairman of the Program Committee and Chairman of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life Committee. Endowed by the Bronfman Family, the programs of the Center for Jewish Life are designed for those beginning their exploration of Judaism, continuing their studies, and seeking a better understanding of Jewish values, texts, history and rituals. Fredrick Mack, President of the 92nd Street Y, had this to offer on the occasion of Matthew Bronfman's being honored by the American & International Societies for Yad Vashem: ""I can think of few people more deserving of this honor than Matthew Bronfman. As I know from being not only his longtime friend, but also his fellow 92nd Street Y board member for almost a decade and a half, Matthew is a person of great honor and integrity, who seeks to do his best in everything he undertakes. His dedication to the 92nd Street Y is well-known, as is his unwavering devotion to the Jewish people and to Israel. He is an example to us all. With a B.A. from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, Matthew became involved in numerous and diverse business inter- (Continued on page 8) s. "