What's New

Educators from 50 Countries at Yad Vashem

In July, 450 educators from 50 countries including China, Poland, Argentina, Canada, Namibia, and Spain attended the 9^th International Conference on Holocaust Education at the International School for Holocaust Studies. Entitled "Through Our Own Lens: Reflecting on the Holocaust from Generation to Generation," the conference examined the unique role of Holocaust survivors and the next generations in sustaining and meeting the challenges of meaningful Holocaust education. In addition to opening remarks by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council, participants heard from world-renown lecturers including Justice Gavriel Bach, former deputy prosecutor in the Adolf Eichmann trial, Professor Yehuda Bauer, Academic Advisor to Yad Vashem, Holocaust survivor and author Professor Rabbi David Halivni, and Arno Klarsfeld interviewing his father Serge Klarsfeld, who led prosecutions against Nazis and their collaborators. Due to the overwhelming demand to attend, several of the sessions were live-streamed; the recorded sessions can be viewed online.

Summer Workshop for Scholars

The International Institute for Holocaust Research of Yad Vashem held its 7th annual summer workshop for Holocaust scholars in July. The international workshop, explored various aspects of the many deportations of Jews throughout Nazi occupied Europe and included presentations, lectures and discussions by leading experts from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Macedonia and the United States. The theme of the week-long workshop this year, entitled: '"Transport" The Deportation of the Jews During the Nazi Period' also discussed Yad Vashem's online research project, exhibition and database entitled "Transports to Extinction" which provides an overview of all aspects of the transports, while focusing on four main issues: reconstruction of the transport's route, information on persons involved in organizing the transport, information about the Jewish deportees and recollections of the survivors of the transports.

Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Awarded

Yad Vashem has recevied the 2014 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence for the second year running. The accolade is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying establishments worldwide. When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor takes into account visitor reviews, ratings, and popularity ranking on the site. Yad Vashem is currently ranked number 2 out of 306 recommended places to visit in Jerusalem.

Recent Events

First Seminar for Turkish Academics

A special week-long seminar for 15 Turkish academics took place in June at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies. Focused on Holocaust studies and geared specifically for Turkish university professors and lecturers, the seminar was the first of its kind.  The seminar, part of a series of sessions and online events, followed a special conference organized by the International School which took place at Galatasaray University in Istanbul last October  in  partnership with the Aladdin Project. A follow-up session exploring concrete projects to teach the Holocaust in Turkey is planned for later this year.

60th Anniversary Mission

Yad Vashem’s International 60th Anniversary Mission in June was eight exceptional days exploring the history, significance and avenues of documenting and educating about the Shoah.  Three generations of Yad Vashem partners and supporters from Australia to South America, set aside time to rededicate themselves to meaningful Holocaust remembrance. Participants began by visiting places of pre-Holocaust historical significance in Krakow and Warsaw as well as central sites of Shoah atrocities such as Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka. Upon their arrival in Israel, participants were immersed in first-hand experiences of Yad Vashem's range of remembrance activities. One of the highlights of the visit to Israel was the replacing of trees that had been planted in honor of Righteous among the Nations over the years and were destroyed or damaged during the December 2013 snowstorm.  

Names Recovery

Tombstones Tell the Stories of the Shoah

Many stories and other invaluable information are collected and documented by the dedicated staff of Yad Vashem’s Shoah Victims’ Names Recovery Project from among the ultra-Orthodox world.  Working since 2007, the staff is specially trained to digitally photograph the names of Holocaust victims from memorial plaques and Judaic artifacts in synagogues, from gravestones in cemeteries and from names in the dedications found in books of Torah and Judaic literature. On Har Hamenuchot Jerusalem, one large mass gravestone stands out: a tombstone of a mass grave of eight Jews who were brutally murdered in the Holocaust while hiding in a bunker in Poland. Their remains were brought to Israel for burial and they were reinterred in Jerusalem. Read more here.

New Publications

Europe in the Eyes of Survivors of the Holocaust

Edited by Zeev Mankowitz, David Weinberg and Sharon Kangisser Cohen
For most survivors of the Holocaust, the memory of Europe was indelibly marked by death and destruction. In Europe in the Eyes of Survivors of the Holocaust, a group of distinguished scholars suggest a more nuanced view by examining the perspectives of ten survivor-writers philosophers, activists, and memoirists whose attitudes towards the European past were characterized by conflicting feelings of alienation and attraction.  In attempting to come to grips with their own wartime experiences, these individuals had to grapple with a series of profound questions that affected their personal philosophy of life and their Jewish identity. How could one adequately describe the events of the Holocaust? Was there a future for Jews in a reconstructed Europe? If not, what alternatives were there in the postwar era to ensure Jewish physical safety and continuity? To purchase, visit our online store.  

News Highlights

Yad Vashem: Int'l Community Must Protect Jews, in the Jewish Press
Nazi 'perfect Aryan' poster child was Jewish, in The Telegraph
Pope Wraps up Delicate Middle East Pilgrimage, on CBS News
Pope at Yad Vashem, Never Again! Never Again! in Haaretz
Peru's First Righteous Gentile Cited by Yad Vashem, the Forward / JTA
Aussies at Yad Vashem Holocaust Studies conference, in J-wire

With Your Support

As the memory of the Shoah recedes, the study of its implications is more essential than ever. Yad Vashem is therefore redoubling its efforts to commemorate the Shoah, disseminate its universal meaning and strengthen Jewish continuity. With the serious rise in antisemitism and recent attacks against Jews, as well as the difficult security situation here in Israel, we are strengthened by the many people still visiting Yad Vashem daily, viewing our website, and interacting with us on social media, recognizing the significance of Shoah commemoration and education. We are determined to carry on the legacy of the survivors, to recreate the Jewish dream, and to continue building a country that will be a home for each and every Jew.

Donate today to continue safeguarding the memories of the past and support Yad Vashem's vital work. Thank you for helping us build a stronger tomorrow for future generations.