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Dear Friend,
The arrival of new archival materials, Righteous Among the Nations ceremonies and easier access to the vast resources at Yad Vashem were all part of a recent flurry of activities. Please take the time to get acquainted with some of our latest events.

A full copy of nearly 52,000 testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses has been transferred to Yad Vashem from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. Established by Steven Spielberg, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute videotaped the testimonies between 1994 and 2000. These testimonies will supplement Yad Vashem’s existing Archive collection of 10,000 survivor video testimonies, filmed beginning in 1989, as well as 5,000 Holocaust-related films of all genres, produced from 1945 until today. The testimonies are now easily accessible for searching and viewing at Yad Vashem’s Visual Center. With over 200,000 hours of video available via VOD (Video on Demand), the Visual Center’s collection of films digitally available for immediate viewing is now the largest one in Israel. In addition, Yad Vashem has some 35,000 audio and written survivor testimonies.

A new online exhibit of the Auschwitz Album has been uploaded to Yad Vashem’s Persian website. The new exhibit contains background information about Auschwitz, 60 pictures and short explanations from the Album itself, aerial photos of Auschwitz taken by the Allied Air Forces during World War II, and survivor testimonies, all in Farsi.

The Yad Vashem Library is the world's most comprehensive collection of published material about the Holocaust. With more than 115,000 titles in 54 languages, the library seeks to collect all material published about the Holocaust, making it available to the reading public and safeguarding it for future generations. Search the complete catalogue.

Names Recovery

Join the global effort to recover the names of Shoah Victims

View our 10-minute Pages of Testimony Tutorial video which demonstrates how to help survivors and others from their generation to fill out Pages of Testimony and memorialize Jews they know of who perished in the Holocaust. The video is ideal for screening at volunteer training sessions or to provide tips and insight for individuals wishing to embark on this project.

For additional ideas and resources on how to launch a names recovery campaign in your area, visit our Community Outreach Guide, now available in the Hebrew and Russian languages for updated program information on the project in Israel and in Russian speaking Jewish communities around the world.

Recent Events

Dutch Righteous Among the Nations Recognized at Yad Vashem

In a moving ceremony at Yad Vashem, Henk Drogt, a member of the Dutch Military Police, was honored posthumously for rescuing Jews during the Holocaust. Ordered to arrest Jews, he and his colleagues adamantly refused. As a result, the policemen were arrested and taken to the Vught concentration camp. Drogt managed to escape arrest and joined one of the Dutch resistance groups, but he was later caught and executed. Henk Drogt was a young man of 23 years old at the time of his arrest, planning to get married to his girlfriend who was expecting a child - a son that he did not live to see. His son, Henk Brink, was in Jerusalem recently to receive the medal and certificate of honor on his father’s behalf.

News Highlights
Stay informed with these articles of interest recently in the press.
The Lessons of Munich
Jewish site transcends borders-Visitors respond to Yad Vashem’s Arabic Website
ABC News takes a look at the Auschwitz Album

With Your Support...

While the successful activities and programs detailed above are notable, and merit celebration, the fact remains that Yad Vashem requires additional support to ensure that it can continue to pursue its important mission of commemoration and education. Now, we need you to join us in our efforts to transform commemoration into a lasting commitment to the Jewish people, to moral values and to responsible action.

A Remarkable Girl Rachel Sellinger from Short Hills, NJ visited Yad Vashem last year with her parents, Eric and Randi Sellinger, grandparents Warren and Mitzi Eisenberg and Leila Sellinger and her entire family. The tour of Yad Vashem affected 12 year old Rachel so profoundly that when she became a Bat Mitzvah, she asked her friends and family to donate money to Yad Vashem in lieu of gifts. Rachel has decided to direct the funds to the collection of 40 Holocaust survivor testimonies. Yad Vashem invites you to join Rachel in this 11th hour campaign to collect survivor testimonies Rachel is pictured here giving 45 checks to Shraga I. Mekel, Development Director of the American Society for Yad Vashem. Also pictured are Rachel’s parents Randi and Eric Sellinger, sister Melanie and brother Noah.

Yad Vashem welcomes the ongoing partnership and visits from its friends and supporters:

For more information on Friends of Yad Vashem please click here

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