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What’s New |
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First-ever Moroccan
Educators’ Seminar |
Survivor honors Righteous
Among the Nations |
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A groundbreaking seminar for educators
from Morocco brought 18 educators and opinion makers together for an
intensive weeklong period of study at Yad Vashem. The group, hosted by
the International School for Holocaust Studies, explored topics as
diverse as the historical rise of antisemitism, pre-war Jewish life in
Europe and North Africa, anti-Jewish Nazi policy and confronting
Holocaust Denial. In addition, the participants learned how to access
and utilize the extensive resources available on the Yad Vashem
website to enhance their knowledge. “The Seminar was an historic
event… where we acquired not only pedagogical tools for Holocaust
education, but learned about the history of the Jewish nation and its
suffering,” said one participant. The group left not only with
essential educational resources for teaching about the Holocaust in
Morocco, but having become part of the supportive educational network
of Yad Vashem’s International School. Yad Vashem's International
School for Holocaust Studies is active in over 55 countries. |
In early 1941, Herbert Odenheimer (now
Ehud Loeb) was hidden by Louise Roget in her home in a small village
in France. He lived with Louise under an assumed identity, Hubert Odet,
until the end of the war. Ehud took part in the daily activities of
the household, working on their farm, studying in the local school,
even serving as a choirboy in the local Church, to help hide his
Jewish identity. Louise took care of Ehud, providing for all his needs
and providing him a safe haven, despite the difficulties and risks. In
October this year, Louise’s grandchildren came from France to
Jerusalem where Louise was posthumously honored at Yad Vashem as a
Righteous Among the Nations. Dr. Loeb, who lives in Israel, was on
hand with his own extended family for the emotional event where he saw
his
rescuer recognized in a
special ceremony. |
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Spotlight on the Web |
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New Online Photo Gallery
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“An
Entire Universe,” is a new photo gallery celebrating the
survivor families, families who came into being because of the bravery
of a Righteous Among the Nations.
The medal of the Righteous bears the Jewish saying: "Whosoever saves a
single life, saves an entire universe" (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5). The
significance of this saying is best demonstrated when survivors'
families – with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
– come together for the honoring of a rescuer. It is not only the life
of the survivor that was saved by the rescuer, but that of an entire
family that would not have come into being, if it weren’t for the
Righteous’ efforts. |
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Names Recovery |
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Names Recovery Project
Helps Cousins Reunite 64 Years After Shoah |
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Cousins Veronica Zer and Livia Prince were
recently reunited in Israel
after having last seen each other in 1945, immediately after surviving
the Shoah. Volunteers for Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project, who
were assisting survivors with the commemoration of their loved ones
that died in the Holocaust, helped Veronica discover Pages of
Testimony that Livia Prince (née Reiter) had filled out for her
parents.
The discovery led to an emotional reunion of the two cousins and their
visit to Yad Vashem together, where they lit a yahrtzheit candle in
the Valley of Communities. "For me this is closure...Not that there
will ever be closure," Livia said, adding, “This is history and now we
have to talk about it, and fast." Read more about their reunion here.
For more information about the Shoah Victims’ Names Recovery Project,
please contact:
names.outreach@yadvashem.org.il |
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Recent Events |
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Marking 71 Years Since
Kristallnacht |
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A
special event marking 71 years since the Kristallnacht pogrom was
held in the Yad Vashem Synagogue. The evening prayer service, Ma’ariv,
was followed by an address by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chairman of the
Yad Vashem Council.
A unique online exhibition,
It Came From Within offering information
about Kristallnacht, including video testimonies of survivors,
archival photographs and Pages of Testimony was highlighted on the Yad
Vashem website. The exhibition offers first-hand information and
insights into the destruction and suffering inflicted on the Jews of
Germany and Austria.
A special series of screenings of the film
Human Failure, Winner of
the 2009 Avner Shalev Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award at the Jerusalem
International Film Festival, took place to mark 71 years since
Kristallnacht. The Award is given annually through the generosity of
Michaela and Leon Constantiner. The Jerusalem screening took place in
the presence of director Michael Verhoeven, who arrived specially from
Germany for the event, and Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev, and in
conjunction with the Yad Vashem Visual Center, The Goethe Institute,
and the Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv Cinematheques. The Film is
featured in the Fall 2009
Yad Vashem Jerusalem Magazine.
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With Your Support... |
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Over the years, we have collected some 100,000 video, audio and written
survivor testimonies. However, the generation that witnessed the Holocaust
is aging and its numbers are rapidly dwindling.
Elderly
Shoah survivors in Israel are now anxious to record their personal stories
before it is too late. Dignifying this important plea, Yad Vashem is now
undertaking an 11th hour campaign to videotape their
testimonies in their own homes. In view of the race against time that we
find ourselves in, Yad Vashem is urgently seeking your support to record
800 testimonies a year over the next 3 years.
Recording a testimony costs just $585.
Please
click here
to support this important project, specifying in the “Comments” field
that your donation is earmarked for the Testimonies Project.
Your
generous support will preserve these personal accounts of the fate of the
Jewish people during the Holocaust for all eternity. Today, when so many
seek to dispute the history of the Shoah, we are all the more appreciative
of your partnership in this crucial project.
Yad Vashem’s activities and programs would not be possible without the
support of our many donors and friends. |
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For more information on Friends of Yad Vashem please
click here
To Join Yad Vashem’s Circle of Friends, please
click here
You can now make a Tribute Gift in Memory of someone or in Honor of a
special occasion or event.
Visit our newly updated website at
www.yadvashem.org
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Yad Vashem Quarterly Magazine |
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The cover article of the Fall edition of the magazine
Yad Vashem Jerusalem
features a compelling issue - how much did the media know about the Nazis’
plans for the Jews? A week-long scholarly workshop tackled this topic -
real-time media reports during WWII. Also in this issue - recent
educational activities, including an unique visit of Palestinian youth to Yad Vashem; a review of the Third National Teachers' Conference; and a
group of special seminars for ultra-orthodox teachers. |
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Copyright © 2009 Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
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