What's New

1,200 Israeli Educators Attend National Conference

The International School for Holocaust Studies, convened their bi-annual National Israeli Teachers' Conference in June 2017. The theme of this year's conference was “The Longing, The Pain: Eretz Israel, the State of Israel, and the Holocaust” and it was attended by Israel's Minister of Education, Naftali Bennett, as well as over 1,200 educators. At the opening session, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev acknowledged the Holocaust survivors in Israel who have contributed tremendously to this country, who built it up in all fields, who chose not to live in the past but to forge ahead and create a brighter future. The Conference offered educators the opportunity to explore, with leading experts, key philosophical, cultural, pedagogical and ethical issues related to Shoah remembrance in the context of Israel’s vibrancy.

Researchers Gather at International Workshop

The 2017 annual research workshop of the Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research focused on the integration of the "Spatial Turn into Holocaust Research", a topic that is attracting growing scholarly attention in historical and sociological research. The groundbreaking workshop enabled renowned scholars from Israel and abroad to develop a stimulating discussion on the subject. Lecture topics included Objects, Space, and Memory – The Meaning of Things and the Perception of “Home” by German Jews under the Nazi Regime, Confinement and Escape: Visual Representations of Space in Artworks from Theresienstadt and the Mapping Hiding Places Research Project. The workshop was one of four recently conducted by the International Institute where scholars from Yad Vashem were joined by leading experts from universities and institutions across the globe.

Recent Events

US President Donald J. Trump Visits Yad Vashem

In May 2017, US President Donald J. Trump, participated in a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem. Following the ceremony, President Trump signed the Yad Vashem guest book and made a moving statement, where he affirmed the paramount importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev presented the President with a token of remembrance, an exact replica of the original Holocaust-era personal album that belonged to Ester Goldstein who was murdered during the Holocaust at the age of 16. Shalev explained how the album is comprised of messages of hope and everlasting friendship inscribed by Ester’s family and friends. Ester's sister Margot Herschenbaum, the sole survivor of her immediate family, attended the event and was notably moved when the President and the First Lady exchanged heartfelt remarks with her after receiving her sister's album. Ester Goldstein's personal album is one of several included in an online exhibition on Yad Vashem's website.

New Publications

From Death to Battle: Auschwitz Survivor and Palmach Fighter

By: Beni Virtzberg
When Beni Virtzberg was 9 years old, the events of Kristallnacht destroyed his carefree childhood in his hometown of Hamburg. His parents decided to escape the increasing persecution by moving to Sosnowiec, Poland, but when Nazi Germany invaded Poland the family shared the fate of many other Jews: internment in a ghetto, followed by deportation to Auschwitz. Beni’s mother was murdered upon arrival. The young boy bravely fought to save his father’s life, but he ultimately lost him as well. Beni Virtzberg’s own fight for survival led him from Auschwitz, where he was forced to assist Joseph Mengele, to the death marches and to the notorious camps of Mauthausen and Melk. Upon liberation, Beni immigrated to Eretz Israel, and fought in some of the fiercest battles during Israel’s War of Independence. From Death to Battle is one of the earliest testimonies published in Israel. Beni won the fight for survival, but ultimately his memories were too heavy a burden. On August 4, 1968, Beni Virtzberg took his own life. Beni's story of his courageous struggle to survive is now available to the English reader.

News Highlights

Family Piano That Survived Holocaust Joins Yad Vashem Museum, in NBC News
At Yad Vashem, Yazidi activists seek to learn how to record their genocide, in the Times of Israel
Nikki Haley at Yad Vashem: 'We must always choose a side', in the Jerusalem Post
Historians defend scholar who studies Poland and Holocaust, in the Daily Mail
An Open Letter to Daniel Barenboim, in Haaretz
Auschwitz Artifacts to Go on Tour, Very Carefully, in the New York Times
Gene Simmons Pays Tribute to His Mother at Yad Vashem Benefit Gala, in the Hollywood Reporter
Yad Vashem signs first seminar agreement with Serbia’s Education Ministry, in the Jerusalem Post

With Your Support

Bridging the Gap – Bringing the Periphery Closer

Throughout the year, Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies facilitates study days that offer a unique opportunity for Israeli youth to encounter the history of the Holocaust and engage in commemorative activities, primarily through a visit to the Mount of Remembrance campus in Jerusalem. However, there are some communities and schools in Israel’s periphery – whether that be for social, geographical or socioeconomic reasons– who cannot make the visit on their own. Yad Vashem believes there should be no barriers between Israel’s youth and meaningful, relevant study of the Holocaust. To help support subsidies for study days and ensure that all of Israel’s students have the opportunity to learn, Donate Now.