Insights and Perspectives from Yad Vashem

by Deborah Berman

I am a proud descendant of the Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, my great uncle, who was murdered during the Holocaust. This week I had the honor of accompanying my aunt, Josette Deutsch-Nelson, Carol's niece and her son Philip Nelson on an emotional visit to Yad Vashem’s Museum of Holocaust Art, where Deutsch's works are on display. Josette was only five years old when she and her parents and two brothers fled Antwerp in May 1940, just days after the German invasion. Fleeing to Spain and eventually Portugal, they secured travel documents through the heroic efforts of the Portuguese Diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who was later recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.

We were warmly received by Niv Goldberg, Collections Manager of Yad Vashem's Museum of Holocaust Art, who presented Josette with a reproduction of Deutsch's illustrations and interviewed her. As she began to speak I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sensation that my aunt was an actual living link to the past. Interspersed with personal reflections and anecdotes, the events she described that took place over 70 years ago became as real to me as if they had happened just last week

While my father and his family succeeded in escaping from Belgium, Carol Deutsch along with his wife Fela and young daughter Ingrid were not as lucky. Initially forced into hiding under assumed identities in Brussels, Carol and Fela were ultimately betrayed, transported to concentration camps and murdered by the Germans. But Ingrid survived the war with her grandmother Regina Braunstein by hiding with a Catholic family in North-Eastern Belgium.

When Regina and Ingrid returned to the family apartment in 1945, they found that none of their possessions remained, the invading German forces had stolen everything. However, a large, meticulously crafted, wooden box adorned with a Star of David and a seven-branched menorah remained untouched.The box held a collection of 99 illustrations of the Bible produced by Carol Deutsch while in hiding in Brussels between 1941 and 1942, an impressive body of work that affirmed his Jewish identity which he created as a gift to his young daughter Ingrid in honor of her second birthday.

I felt so connected to my great uncle while viewing the display of his work. When faced with the heaviness of his fate and the possibility of his impending death his choice of what to bequeath to his precious daughter Ingrid was this masterpiece of Bible illustrations, the book upon which he was raised and upon which his values where shaped.

One of Carol Deutsch's 99 illustrations of the Bible

I can almost conjure up the image of the invading Nazis stumbling upon the wooden box as they raided the bounty of the contents of the apartment, instantly dismissing the box as a thing of no value or worth. How wrong they were. How powerful the message hidden inside the box. How ironic that they had the opportunity to physically destroy it but did not even realize its worth, could not even fathom its intrinsic and lasting value.

After our tour of the art museum, the three of us, myself, my Aunt Josette and my cousin Philip, decided to sit together quietly with the reproduction of Deutsch's illustrations in all of their colorful and tantalizing splendor spread out between us. And almost magically we found ourselves drawn into the world that he had so deftly crafted, the stories of the bible suddenly coming to life for us, leaping off the pages into the quiet coffee shop where we sat, the air rife with the sibling enmity between Cain and Abel, the loving tenderness between father and son in Abraham and Isaac's embrace, the radiance of Moses with two rays of yellow light beaming from his face, the festivity of Miriam leading the women in joyous dance and song celebrating the defeat of the Egyptians, and on and on and on ... transporting us from
the creation narrative in Genesis through to Moses' parting words to his beloved Israelites in Deuteronomy.

There we were, the descendants of Carol Deutsch, huddled together over his treasure. His pièce de résistance. And I couldn't help but wonder - Who knows what he might have gone on to create if his life had not been cut so brutally short? Who can say what new vistas his creativity might have unearthed if he had been spared his cruel death as a nameless inmate at the Ohrdurf subcamp of the notoriously horrific Buchenwald Camp? I have no answers and can make no sense of his senseless murder, just one among the murder of millions more of our people. And yet, although tragically he did not survive, his art and the great message that it embodies are still here with us today, painstakingly preserved and on display to the public in the Yad Vashem Museum of Holocaust Art.

So, Uncle Carol I thank you for these works of great beauty and I thank you for your strength of spirit, your forward thinking and your faith in the continuity of the Jewish people, because despite all the sadness and suffering - we are here. And we are proud to move forward towards the future as a strong Jewish people, deeply rooted in our rich heritage, the vision that you believed at your very core would some day come to be. We have received your message and we value it, cherish it, and hold it dear. Here in this old new land, with the brightness of the sunlight reflecting off the Jerusalem stone so that it almost blinds us in its dazzling whiteness, we can still see the images of these age old stories, these tales that represent our very essence as Jews; our heritage and our legacy depicted in bright vivid colors that have emerged from the darkness to light the way for humanity.

Archeological excavations at the Sobibór extermination camp have been conducted by Yoram Haimi and his Polish associate Wojciech Mazurek since 2007. In 2013, the Dutch archeologist Dr. Ivar Schute joined the project, which is being carried out in coordination with Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research, the German-Polish Foundation and the Majdanek State Museum. Over the years, thousands of personal items have been found at the site, including rings, pendants, earrings, jewelery, perfume bottles, medicine cases and food utensils.
This week, the water well used by prisoners at Camp I, in which the uprising took place, was also discovered. The well contained numerous personal items belonging to Jews; the Germans filled the well with waste during the camp's liquidation.
Dr. David Silberklang, Senior Historian at the International Institute for Holocaust Research and Editor-in-Chief of Yad Vashem Studies, commented on the new findings at Sobibór: "The discovery of the gas chambers at Sobibór is a very important finding in Holocaust research. It is important to understand that there were no survivors from among the Jews who worked in the area of the gas chambers. Therefore, these findings are all that is left of those murdered there, and they open a window onto the day-to-day suffering of these people. We will now be able to know more precisely what the process of murder was in the camp, and what the Jews went through until they were murdered. Additionally, finding the gas chambers and their capacity will enable us to estimate more precisely the number of people murdered in Sobibór." Dr. Silberklang added that these findings complement what is already known about the camp from survivors who escaped during the uprising from the camp.
Archeologist Yoram Haimi: "After eight years of excavations at Sobibór, this is a great acheivement for me and the research staff. Finally, we have reached our goal – the discovery of the gas chambers. We were amazed at the size of the building and the well-preserved condition of the chamber walls. The most poignant moment was when we found a wedding band next to the gas chambers, on which was the Hebrew inscription: "Behold, you are consecrated unto me."
The Sobibór extermination camp was located near the village and railway station of Sobibór, in the eastern part of the Lublin district in Poland, not far from the Chełm-Włodawa railway line.The camp was established along with the extermination camps of Treblinka and Bełżec as part of "Operation Reinhard." During the period of the camp’s operation, April 1942 - October 1943, some 250,000 Jews were murdered there. In the wake of the camp uprising on 14 October 1943, the Germans decided to dismantle the camp. The site has remained bare, lacking any characteristic traces of it being a former extermination camp. In order to provide information about the specific details of the camp, until now researchers used survivor testimonies. However, these testimonies provided information about only part of the camp, which made an actual blueprint and reconstruction of the whole camp impossible.

Some 70 years after the last days of the Holocaust, inspiring stories of rescue continue to come to light. Today, in an extraordinarily moving ceremony at Yad Vashem, Antoine Sala and his daughters Henriette, Louise, Marie Paule and her husband, Giovanni Angeli were posthumously honored as Righteous Among the Nations. Veronique Dorothy, Marie Paule and Giovanni's granddaughter, arrived especially from France to attend the ceremony and accept the medal and certificate on her family's behalf. Holocaust survivor Henri Dzik who was rescued by the Sala Family, met Veronique and proudly introduced her to his extended family – children, grandchildren, and more - who literally embody the Talmudic saying embossed on the medal: Whosoever save a single life, saves an entire universe

The ceremony began with a memorial service at the Hall of Remembrance where Dorothy lit the Eternal Flame in honor of her grandfather, Antoine Sala and his daughters Henriette, Louise, Marie Paule and her husband, Giovani Angeli. Afterwards, the ceremony continued at the Yad Vashem Synagogue where the exceptional story of the Sala family was told of how they graciously took Henri into their homes and saved his life. Antoine Sala was a barber who lived with his children in Pau, France. One of his daughters, Marie-Paule, was married and lived near her father with her husband, Giovanni Angeli. In 1942, the two families hid Henri Dzik, a Jewish child from Paris, and protected him until the end of the war. At the beginning of the war, Henri's father, Maurice volunteered for the French army. When France surrendered, he was released, however he decided not to return to his family in Paris but stayed instead in Pau. Henri and his mother Anna stayed in Paris. On July 16, 1942 during the Vel d'Hiv roundup, Henri spent time in a summer camp for Jewish children in La Varenne, France. Anna managed to escape when the French police arrived and fled Paris together with her sister Esther and one of their neighbors. She was very worried about Henri and asked her sister to help her return to Paris, and the three of them crossed the French demarcation line and were joined by Maurice in the "free zone." They made contact with the Sala family and Henri was sent to them.

Dorothy Veronique lighting the Eternal Flame at the Hall of Remembrance

The Sala family took care of Henri and treated him as if he were family. He became attached to Marie-Paule's children, especially Yvan who was the same age as him. He spent his days with Giovanni and Marie-Paule, but due to the lack of space in their apartment he went to Antoine's home to sleep at night. Henri quickly got used to his new life. Thanks to the devoted care of his rescuers, Henri managed to live a fairly normal life, protected from danger and fear. At the end of the war, Maurice Dzik, who had joined the French forces that fought in North Africa, came to collect Henri, and the family returned to Paris. The two families kept in touch for about a year, but over time the connection was lost. The families reconnected recently, after Henri's son discovered Yvan, who remembered his childhood friend Henri from the period of the war.

After Dorothy humbly accepted the certificate and medal on behalf of her family she read a speech from her father, Yvan Angeli who was unable to attend the ceremony. Yvan noted that is a shame that his family could not be here today to accept this award however "It is with great pride and appreciation, that myself along with my wife, my children Igor and Veronique, honor those who protected Henry Dzik and are unable to be here today with us." Thanks to the devoted care and bravery of the Sala family, Henri recounted how he managed to live a generally fairly normal life and survived the war. Henri commented: "They were well aware of the perils that awaited because of my presence among them. Their solicitude at all times have saved me." Henri now has a vibrant and beautiful family who were so excited to partake in this ceremony. Henri said that along with his family will be forever grateful to Dorothy and her family for risking their lives to save Henri.

Dorothy Veronique and Dora Weinberger, commission pour la designation des justes accepting the certificate and medal of honor

The certificate and medal of honor

The ceremony concluded at the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations where together Henri and Dorothy eagerly unveiled the Sala family names on the Wall of the Honor. Henri and Dorothy posed for pictures next to the wall of names along with Henri's family. It was a moving and special moment to see Dorothy together with Henri and his beautiful family who are here today thanks to the unforgettable bravery and heroism of one special family.

Dorothy Veronique and Henry Dzik unveiling the Sala family names on the Wall of Honor

Dorothy Veronique and Henry Dzik and family

While we do not know who is behind the theft of the sign, the theft of such a symbolic object is an offensive attack on the memory of the Holocaust.

Today, in an emotional and gripping ceremony at Yad Vashem, Petro and Kateryna Durniak from Ukraine were posthumously honored as Righteous among the Nations. Their daughter, Christina-Ludmila Kril flew in especially from Ukraine to accept the medal and certificate on their behalf. Members from the Ukrainian Embassy, along with Fredi Gruber, son of Righteous Josef Gruber and friends of Petro Durniak attended the event.

The ceremony began in the Hall of Remembrance where Christina rekindled the Eternal Flame in memory of the six million victims of the Holocaust. The ceremony continued in the Yad Vashem synagogue where Christina humbly accepted the medal and certificate of honor. Christina told the exceptional story of how her parents graciously saved the life of a young Jewish girl, Anna-Barbara and took her into their home as one of their own. In the summer of 1942, when 50,000 Jews from Lwow (today Lviv), were deported to their deaths at the Belzec Extermination Camp, David Winter and his wife made the painful decision to to separate from their newborn daughter, Anna, in order to increase her chances of survival. They secretly took Anna out of the ghetto and asked David's Ukrainian friend Petro Durniak to watch over their baby daughter. Kateryna was pregnant, and soon gave birth to a child. The couple changed Barbara’s name to Anna, and introduced the two children as twins. Tragically their own child died shortly afterwards. Durniak grew very attached to little Anna-Barbara, and his wife often complained that he preferred her to their daughter Christina, who was born in 1944.

Petro Durniak

Kateryna Durniak

The Winter couple survived the Holocaust and the first news they heard of their daughter came from David's brother, Nachum Winter. Nachum was a soldier in the Red Army and after his hometown Lwow was liberated, he requested time off and traveled to search for any of his relatives who may have survived. He found his niece at the home of Kateryna Durniak (she and Petro were separated at this time) and gave her his monthly salary in gratitude for care of his niece. Before he left he took a photograph with his niece. When Nachum discovered his brother and his wife at one of the refugee camps in Central Europe, he informed them that their daughter was alive and sent them the picture he had taken with Anna-Barbara. David and his wife contacted Kateryna and organized for Anna-Barbara's transfer to them, across the border of the USSR.

The Winter family moved to Israel, but shortly afterwards they emigrated to Austria. With time, the Winters lost contact with the Durniak family. However, the Durniaks never forgot Anna-Barbara. Kateryna kept her picture in a family photo album and after her death, her daughter Christina kept the photograph.

The rescue story of baby Anna-Barbara came to light in 2013 when Fredi Gruber, whose father Josef Gruber was recognized as Righteous among the Nations in 2005, traveled from his home in Israel to Lviv to meet his father's family. Fredi also searched for any descendants of his father's friend, Petro Durniak. He arrived at Christina's home and she showed him the picture of Anna-Barbara as a small child. Upon his return to Israel, Fredi turned to Yad Vashem and told Anna-Barbara's rescue story. After further investigation, the Department of the Righteous among the Nations uncovered a testimony given by Fredi's mother, Antonia Gruber, in 2005. In a single sentence she mentioned that her future husband's friend, named Durniak, had rescued a Jewish girl. In addition, a testimony from 1961 of Nachum Winter was found in the Yad Vashem Archives where he gave a detailed explanation of how he discovered his niece. Attached to his testimony was the picture that was taken of Nachum and Anna-Barbara at Kateryna's home. These two photographs, the one saved by Nachum from the Durniak family, and the photograph that was in David Winter's testimony, clearly show the same child. Therefore, with the help of testimony which was given more than fifty years ago, Yad Vashem was able to connect the two parts of this story.

Anna-Barbara as a child

When Christina spoke of her mother, she said that she had a difficult childhood growing up. Despite her hardships, when faced with the responsibility of taking in Anna-Barbara, her mother said there was no other option. "My mother was orphaned as a child. People who suffer either become bitter and vengeful or choose to be sensitive and care for the suffering of others. Clearly, my mother chose the latter." Fredi Gruber, son of Righteous among the Nations, Joseph Gruber also said a few words during the ceremony. He said that his parents were good friends with the Durniaks and called the Durniaks 'heroes.' He also spoke about his initial meeting with Christina in Lwow. When Fredi first met Christina in August 2013, he suggested to her that he thought, her parents should be honored as Righteous among the Nations. However, Christina said, "But why? They aren't alive anymore." Fredi and Christina then met at a later time and she told him when her mother was dying she asked, "Where is my Anna?" Fredi asked her again if she would object if he recommended her parents be honored as Righteous to Yad Vashem and Christina finally agreed.

Christina-Ludmila Kril with a member from the Ukrainian Embassy at the Hall of Remembrance

The ceremony concluded at the Garden of the Righteous among the Nations where the Durniak's names were revealed on the Wall of Honor. Christina proudly posed for pictures next to her parent's names. She was also joined by Fredi Gruber who excitedly pointed out both the Durniak's names and on the adjoining wall, his parents' names. The inspirational story of the selflessness and bravery of the Durniak couple who risked their lives to save a young Jewish girl will never be forgotten.

Christina-Ludmila Kril accepted the medal on her parent's behalf

Christina-Ludmila Kril with Fredi Gruber at the unveiling of her parent's names at the Garden of the Righteous among the Nations

Yad Vashem mourns the passing of Holocaust survivor, journalist, author and diplomat Naphtali Lau-Lavie yesterday at the age of 88. Naphtali was the older brother of Yad Vashem Council Chairman and former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.

The two brothers, who were born in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland, survived the Holocaust together, after their parents and other siblings were murdered. Sixteen-year-old Naphtali was entrusted with the care of his five-year-old sibling, and looked after him through the Czestochowa slave labor camp and then in Buchenwald, where they were liberated by American forces in 1945.

"For three years, I served as father and mother, guardian and protector to my younger brother Israel Meir, or 'Lulek,' as we called him," wrote Naphtali in his autobiography, Balaam's Prophecy. "I often felt despair attacking me, flinging me helplessly to my destruction. I think it was the mission my father gave me, to bring my younger brother to safety and to ensure the continuation of our family’s rabbinic dynasty, that kept me alive and gave me the will to continue fighting for our lives, rather than succumb to the horrible fate that befell the rest of our family."

After arriving in the Land of Israel, Naphtali joined the Haganah and spent the rest of his life in service to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.He worked as a newspaper military correspondent; a spokesman for Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir; Israel's consul- general in New York; and Vice Chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, investigating Jewish properties that had been confiscated by the Nazis as well as the Soviet regime. He was also deeply committed to Holocaust commemoration: he was a member of the Yad Vashem Council and gave extensive accounts of his wartime experiences. Segments of his testimony are featured in Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Israel Meir Lau described his older brother Naphtali as his "real hero," in his memoirs, Do Not Raise Your Hand Against the Boy. "Naphtali had a mission, and he could not allow himself to fail. This mission helped him to stay alive. He suffered weeks of sleeplessness, cold, hunger, and disease, which brought him to lose all interest in life. But he knew he could not sink. He could not give up."

Yad Vashem extends its deepest condolences to Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Naphtali's wife Joan, and his children and grandchildren.

The Journey of Ilse Kaufmann: Vienna-Prague-Buenos Aires

Yad Vashem Publications' new release, The Journey of Ilse Kaufmann: Vienna-Prague-Buenos Aires, isa personal testimony of Ilse Kaufmann's survival in the Holocaust.

Each story of wartime survival is different, but knowing whom to trust is a dilemma shared by many who were struggling to survive the reality of war. In Ilse's story, a bottle of cognac saved three people, a marriage proposal saved two families, and the help of a loyal governess made all the difference. Growing up in in prewar Vienna as the only daughter of her adoring banker father and beautiful mother, Ilse Kaufmann (nee Hahn) had a sheltered childhood. When the Germans invaded Austria in March 1938, Ilse was in Olmutz, a small town in Moravia, visiting her Aunt Alicia. Ordered by her father not to return home, she found herself alone with her Aunt, worried about her parents who were caught in occupied Vienna. Four months later, she was joined by her parents in Czechoslovakia, and the family's struggle and long journey to freedom began.

Ilse's marriage to Adalbert (Bela) Kaufmann, a hotel manager whom she met in Prague, assisted the family in establishing connections with the Argentine embassy, and in late 1941, her parents acquired Argentine passports, which enabled them to flee Czechoslovakia. A year later, Ilse, her husband and their son were among the last Jews remaining in Prague. With their "non-German" passports they successfully made the journey to Spain via Berlin, then crossed the border to Lisbon and secured a place on one of the final ships to sail across the Atlantic Ocean during the hostilities, arriving in Argentina in early 1943.

Ilse wrote her life story with the assistance of Helena Pardo, who was introduced to Ilse by a mutual friend, and the co-writing of this book created a lifelong friendship between the two women. In the foreword chapter of the book, Pardo describes Kaufmann as "a woman who fought not only for her own life but also for the life of her loved ones; a woman who had the people she most loved taken away from her by death."

The Journey of Ilse Kaufmann is a story of rescue, love, family and friendship, and is a heartfelt chronicle of survival.

Excerpt: "That night, at three in the morning, we woke up with a start to the sound of boots marching, fists pounding on our front door and the doorbell ringing insistently. "Open up! Gestapo!" a voice yelled outside the door. They entered immediately and began searching and breaking everything. They even had the nerve to pick the child up out of his crib. I had just managed to make it into the bathroom to conceal a document my father had entrusted me with, placing it inside the hem of my nightgown."

The Journey of Ilse Kaufmann: Vienna-Prague-Buenos Aires, by Ilse Kaufmann and Helena Pardo,is available for purchase at the Yad Vashem onlinestore.

Following tradition, each year the Mansbach family comes to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum to bring home their menorah to use during the festival of Hanukkah. The menorah was donated to Yad Vashem by the Mansbach family and is on permanent display in the Holocaust History Museum. Today, Yehuda Mansbach, the grandson of Rachel Posner, came to Yad Vashem to take the menorah home where he will light the candles in celebration of Hanukkah. This year, the Hanukkah menorah will also be used in a Hanukkah ceremony for the soldiers in the IDF battalion of Mansbach's son.

Yehudah Mansbach carefully packing up his grandfather’s Hanukkah

menorah which is on display at Yad Vashem throughout the year,

except during the festival of Hanukkah. Photo: Marisa Danson

Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, Doctor of Philosophy from Halle-Wittenberg University, served from 1924-1933 as the last Rabbi of the community of Kiel, Germany. After Rabbi Posner publicized a protest letter in the local press expressing indignation at the posters that had appeared in the city: "Entrance to Jews Forbidden," he was summoned by the chairman of the local branch of the Nazi party to participate in a public debate. The event took place under heavy police guard and was reported by the local press. When the tension and violence in the city intensified, the Rabbi responded to the pleas of his community to flee with his wife Rachel and their three children and make their way to Eretz Israel. Before their departure, Rabbi Posner was able to convince many of his congregants to leave and many in fact managed to leave for Eretz Israel or the United States. The Posner family left Germany in 1933 and arrived in Eretz Israel in 1934. Some eighty years later, Akiva and Rachel Posner's descendants continue to light the Hanukkah candles using the same menorah that was brought to Israel from Kiel.

Both the Hanukkah menorah and the photograph are on display at Yad Vashem.

The Mansbach family menorah

Rachel photographed the menorah from the
window ledge of the family home looking out on to
the building across the road
decorated with Nazi flags just prior to the elections that
would bring Hitler to power,

On the back of the photograph she wrote (in German),

“Hanukkah 5692,

‘Death to Judah"

So the flag says.

‘Judea will live forever,’

So the light answers.

International Research Conference at Yad Vashem

The Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research hosted an international conference from December 15, 2014 to Thursday, December 18, 2014. The conference entitled, "All of Israel are Responsible for One Another”? included researchers, historians and leading experts from all over the world, including Israel, Italy, Sweden, Austria, U.S.A., Germany and Canada. They presented lectures on various topics including solidarity, mutual help, animosity and tensions within Jewish society in Nazi Europe. The conference took place with the generous support of the Gertner Center for International Holocaust Conferences and the Gutwirth Family Fund.

“The conference addressed important and challenging issues, and raised central questions relating to coping mechanisms of the individual and the community in various situations during the Holocaust,” said Director of the International Institute for Holocaust Research, Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto. “It raised questions about the lack of, or existence of Jewish solidarity, explored conventional wisdom, and offered different types of reactions and coping vis-a-vis times of extreme crisis – from organized rescue through hostility and division.”

The opening session took place on Monday, December 15, 2014 with remarks from Professor Dan Michman, Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research of Yad Vashem and Incumbent of the John Najmann Chair for Holocaust Studies. Also addressing the opening session included: Yad Vashem Director General Dorit Novak, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau and Yad Vashem Chief Historian Dina Porat. Prof. David Engel, Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies and Chair of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, presented the opening keynote address, entitled On Jewish Solidarity in Modern Times: What Might the Experience of the Holocaust Reveal about Modern Jewish History? Other topics addressed during the conference included families in Eastern European ghettos confronting starvation, deportation and murder; revenge and justice in the prewar concentration camps; and leadership and alternative leadership in the Kovno ghetto and Jewish communications during the Holocaust.

The concluding session took place on Thursday, December 18, 2014 with remarks from Prof. Dan Michman. "The conference addressed the aspect of expressions of Jewish solidarity and tensions within Jewish society in Nazi Europe through several perspectives: the dimensions of the ideal of mutual responsibility in the Jewish tradition, and its meaning for situations in the Holocaust; the question of the connection between unity and power in modern Jewish history and its repercussions for that period; and a broad variety of situations in which solidarity was tested - in camps and ghettos, by organizations and individuals, in thought and actions. The papers showed also that there were several levels of solidarity. Altogether, some recent claims that all solidarity collapsed were proved as being gross exaggerations."

Steven Katz, Boston University, U.S.A.

In addition, a keynote addressed by Steven Katz, Boston University, U.S.A. on Kol Yisrael Arevim: Interpreting the Concept of Jewish Solidarity. Katz noted in his closing address, "As we listened intensively to the informative papers on a wide range of topics related to many geographical areas given at this conference, I would add the following based on what I've heard and learned… Despite the extraordinary context of the Shoah, unlike any previous context in Jewish or world history we have together been told of examples of Jewish solidarity…in the Polish ghettos and among the Jewish underground… the case of Jews in Eastern Europe who cared for each other…the responsibilities by doctors and nurses in the Warsaw ghetto…how they collaborated with each other in labor camps…most extraordinarily we heard about solidarity evident even at Auschwitz. I strongly agree with Professor Dalia Ofer that each context needs to be studied separately and in detail…when you finish that exploration, it seems to me that there still however leaves many questions. The really puzzling question, the truly deep and provocative question… based on the cumulative evidence…is not why there were so many failures in Jewish solidarity, so much selfishness …but rather the important issue given the conditions of intentional dehumanization, hunger, brutality, sadism, sickness, disease, rape, and the natural desire to stay alive…in this context the really profound issue is: How could there have been so many acts of moral courage, of mutual care, of ethical response? Perhaps millennia of Jewish solidarity and emphasizing, "All of Israel are responsible for one another" did make a difference. However limited and constrained, however unpredictable and uncertain, however bent by the crooked timber of mankind this difference was. In light of what I learned this week, I would argue that this is an authentic possibility that requires and deserves further reflection."

In celebration of Hanukkah this week, highlighted below are a few exceptional Hanukkah menorahs from Yad Vashem's Artifacts Collection. The creative and original menorahs are remnants of the cultural and religious life of Jewish communities that attempted to maintain Jewish tradition during the Holocaust.

Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection, Donated by the Remonstrant Church, Netherland.

This nineteenth century Hanukkah menorah was found, wrapped in newspapers dated 1941, under the floor of the former synagogue in Alphen aan den Rijn, Holland during renovations carried out in the 1980s. The Jewish community of Alphen aan den Rijn was destroyed during the Holocaust. The synagogue, in which the menorah once stood, became a church.

Yad Vashem artifacts Collection, Donated by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, Bucharest.

This brass Hanukkah menorah was made from available materials by Jews who were deported from Romania to the area of Transnistria during the Holocaust, where they were abandoned by authorities.

Yad Vashem Artifacts collection, Gift of Bella Bialik, Tel Aviv

This compact silver Hanukkah menorah folds up into the form of a prayer book. It was presented to Mordecai Rumkowski, head of the Judenrat in the Lodz Ghetto by Ziso Eybeshitz who ran the paper factory in the Ghetto. The menorah was found in the ruins of Rumkowski's home in the Ghetto.

View more photos from Hanukkah before, during and after the Holocaust on Yad Vashem's online Exhibition: "Hanukkah- The Festival of Lights."

Letters Never Sent

Yad Vashem Publications' new release, Letters Never Sent: Amsterdam, Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen by Mirjam Bolle is a personal historical account of persecution, distress and anguish.

In early 1943, Mirjam Levie, a young Jewish woman from Amsterdam, began writing letters to her fiancée, Leo Bolle with whom she was deeply in love. Bolle had immigrated to Eretz Israel a few years earlier. "I am vain enough to believe that this diary may be found hundreds of years from now and serve as an important source of information. That's why I included all the trivial things, because they may provide an outsider with a more vivid picture. After all, I'm so caught up in all this that I can't put myself in the shoes of a person who isn't going through this himself and therefore knows nothing about it. Perhaps one day our children will read it."

Her letters, which were never sent, were written during the deportations of the Jews from Amsterdam; during her incarceration in Westerbork, the main transit camp for Jewish deportees to the death camps in Poland; and during her imprisonment in Bergen-Belsen.

As secretary in the controversial "Joodsche Raad voor Amsterdam" (the Jewish Council for Amsterdam), Mirjam's letters are the only remaining source to describe events from the viewpoint of one of its members. Mirjam managed to hide the letters she wrote in Amsterdam and Westerbork; and those she wrote in Bergen-Belsen she brought with her when she was released as part of an exchange between Dutch Jews and German POWs, and arrived in Eretz Israel on July 10, 1944.

Excerpt from book: Westerbork

"My darling. I'm all alone in the school at the moment. "Alone" is a relative notion, for there are at least 100 children outside, with all the noise that playing children make…I had got as far as our arrival at the station. As I wrote, this was an extremely difficult moment. I kept looking around me to see if there was any chance of escape, but there wasn't. Hundreds and hundreds of people filled the platform, nothing but familiar faces, of course…The wagons were unbearably hot. And we had to sit on the floor, of course. Now this matters little to me, but imagine the elderly people. Besides, people kept fainting, while some suffered panic attacks and others had their hands trampled on so they were bleeding. It was a pitiful sight. The train was interminable, and still more people filed onto the platform, huffing and puffing with their heavy luggage. Some, elderly people and parents with young children, sat on top of their luggage on the platform, waiting for someone to help them onto the train. Just like migrants. Many were in tears, naturally, while others just sat there staring. Children were wailing, there was screaming and shouting, but also some jolly greetings, such as "You are here as well?" from spirited youngsters…"

Letters Never Sent: Amsterdam, Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen is available for purchase online or may be ordered by email.

It has been brought to our attention that there are several instances on our website where camps are referred to as "Polish death camps." Yad Vashem is dedicated to providing accurate and updated historical information. For example, as can be seen here, in 2006 Yad Vashem previously supported the request of the Polish Government to add the words "the former Nazi German Camp" to the name of Auschwitz - Birkenau, and continues to support this decision. We are grateful that this unfortunate mistake has been brought to our attention and we are already in the process of correcting it in our website.

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day this year Yad Vashem once again launched the IRemember Wall on Facebook. The IRemember Wall is a unique and meaningful opportunity for the public to participate in an online commemorative event. By joining the wall, one's Facebook profile is randomly linked to the name of a Holocaust victim from our Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names and then posted to the wall together with the photo and name of the Holocaust victim. Thousands each year have joined Yad Vashem's IRemember Wall.

The IR Wall was originally created in order to provide Yad Vashem's growing international group of Facebook followers a meaningful as well as participatory way to commemorate Holocaust victims. The random linking of one's FB profile with the name and story of a Holocaust victim ensures that even those who don’t have a personal connection to someone who perished, can join and be part of this online commemorative opportunity.

On January 27^th, 2015 over 4,000 people from all over the world joined the IR Wall and immediately were able to view a photo of the Holocaust victim they were connected to as well as Pages of Testimony from our Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names providing information (when known) about where the victim was born, family members' names, place of death and more.

Yad Vashem was very moved by many of the meaningful comments people posted:

One participant wrote: "This is my 3^rd year connecting to IRemember…it never fails to move me

Sara Plotka was born in Rozan, Poland in 1920 to Shlomo and Fruma. Prior to WWII she lived in Rozan, Poland. Sara was murdered in the Shoah at the age of 22."

Another participant commented, "It is an honour for me to have the chance to get personally involved each year. Without Yad Vashem's wonderful idea I wouldn't be able to spend the days reflecting on that one special person. I think about them all, all the time but it is so special to remember the one person for a short while."

Others wrote, "Always in my heart. We will always remember."

We would like to thank all of you who joined our IRemember Wall this year to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and for sharing your meaningful comments and messages with us.

In order to prevent inflated prices for tourists visiting one of Jerusalem's most popular sites, Yad Vashem decided to arrange for an on-site taxi service. Several months ago, a tender was issued which according to Israeli law was advertised in an Arabic newspaper, thus enabling Arab taxi operators to participate in the tender."

Yad Vashem placed no precondition in the tender regarding the identity of the cab drivers. Three Jerusalem taxi services, made offers for the tender. The best offer was made by Hapisgah Taxis and therefore they were chosen. It is important to note, that the Hapisgah Taxi service did not submit any documentation to the Yad Vashem commission stating that the taxi service has a policy against employing Arabs. After clarifying with the manager of Hapisgah Taxi, the service said that they have no such policy. The Israeli Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the Ministry of Economy is currently looking into this matter.

Roman Frister was born in 1928 in the town of Bielsko, Silesia, the only child of a bourgeois, well-off family. Roman was given a multi-cultural education, with access to books in German, Polish and English. His parents had intended to send him to a prestigious boarding school in London straight after his Bar Mitzvah.

When the war broke out, Roman’s family lived under an assumed identity thanks to forged identity papers that Polish friends of his father’s managed to obtain for them. When the Jews were forced into the Bielsko ghetto, the Fristers stayed at home, but eventually had to move to Krakow, where they continued to use their forged papers.

Roman, who looked “Aryan”, felt secure walking on the streets of Krakow while all the city’s Jews, including his own grandparents, had been forced to move into the ghetto. The 13-year-old Roman decided that he would find a way to smuggle his grandparents out of the ghetto. After monitoring the daily running of the ghetto, he managed to sneak inside bringing with him the clothes of a priest, a nun and a novice. He found his grandparents, who were astonished to see him. After much argument, Roman convinced them to exit the ghetto with him dressed up in the garments he had brought. Roman’s act of rescue granted his grandparents a few more months of life: on discovering them hiding in a village, the Nazis murdered them.

Roman and his parents were eventually caught after they were betrayed. His mother was murdered in front of him in the Krakow prison, and he was deported with his father to several camps, including Plaszow and Auschwitz-Birkenau. “Chance played a major role in my survival,” relates Frister “As long as I knew how to take my chance when it arose. Once, I was caught while in a camp. The SS man drew his gun, but the bullet got stuck in the barrel. Chance, right? But if I had stood around until he reloaded, he would have shot me. I ran, thus helping chance to help me. This is a trait that characterizes me till today,” he said in an interview with “Yediot Aharonot” in 1993. In another incident, Frister stole a prisoner’s cap after his own was taken, thus buying his life at the price of another Jew’s death. “If human life is the ultimate value, shouldn’t one do everything possible to stay alive, even at the cost of another’s life? Who can judge whose life was more important? My life is worth more to me than the life of anyone else. I’m not holy. I knew that if I didn’t do it, I’d die. Even today, I think I did the right thing.”

In 1957, Roman immigrated to Israel and entered the world of the media. He was a journalist for the Ha’aretz newspaper for many years, lectured in journalism at the university and wrote several books. One of them, “The Cap: The Price of a Life”, is an autobiographical account.

In his book, Roman recalls his father’s dying words, spoken as he lay on his bunk in the Plaszow labor camp: “…I only ask one thing. Just one. That you be a human being. A fair person. That you don’t take the morality of the camps with you into your new life. That you don’t adopt the laws of the jungle. That you forget what you acquired here. The necessity to lie and cheat and hurt others. The contempt for law and honesty. And promise me that you will never – you hear – never steal.”

Roman Frister will be laid to rest on Wednesday, 11 February 2015 in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw.

Artworks created during the Holocaust, often intimate and fragile, at times extremely personal, can be viewed as important documents, written by means of artistic expression rather than with words. They constitute a most valuable tool for understanding the inconceivable reality of the Holocaust. A discussion of the methodology for integrating the visual into research and education about the Holocaust was initiated last week at Yad Vashem. The workshop raised the question of how to implement this approach in museums, classrooms and research.

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) held an international workshop, organized by the Yad Vashem Archives and the Museums Division, from February 9, 2015 to February 11, 2015 in Jerusalem. The Workshop entitled "Holocaust Art – an Essential Tool for the Methodology of Constructing a Historical Narrative” explored the role of the visual arts in an attempt to build a historical Holocaust narrative, examining the phenomenon through an array of approaches. The workshop included museum directors, curators, scholars and leading experts from all over the world such as Germany, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, U.K., U.S.A. and Israel. Participants presented lectures on various topics within the framework of Holocaust Art, such as: the use of art as visual testimony; setting Holocaust Art in its historical context; the role of the artist as recorder of history; and, methodologies to investigate art looted by the Nazis and the Provenance Research Project.

Barbara Kirschenblatt-Gimblett presenting the opening keynote address.

The opening session took place on Monday, February 9, 2015 with welcoming remarks from Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate. Shalev emphasized the importance of art on two levels: first, the interweaving of art as historical testimony in Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum, and second, the importance of seeing art and its creation, during the harshest of circumstances, as a component that preserved the artists' human spirit.

Barbara Kirschenblatt-Gimblett, Program Director of the Core Exhibition, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, presented the opening keynote address, entitled "Felt Facts: The Role of Art and Culture in the Holocaust Gallery at POLIN Museum". In this presentation, she argued for a removal of focus from art specifically, to an emphasis on visual culture broadly defined.

The closing session took place on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 with a round table moderated by Haim Gertner, Director of the Yad Vashem Archives Division and member of the Executive Committee of EHRI; Yehudit Shendar, Retired Deputy Director and Senior Art Curator of the Museums Division and currently with Yad Vashem's Provenance Research Project, and Eliad Moreh-Rosenberg, Curator and Art Department Director in the Museums Division. The participants expressed enthusiasm for having had the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas with colleagues in the intimate atmosphere of this first of its kind workshop and concluded that there is a need to continue the collaboration between researchers and the various institutions dealing with these important issues. In addition, they stressed the necessity to acknowledge Holocaust Art as part of the mainstream in the field of Art History.

Yesterday at Yad Vashem, a special ceremony posthumously honoringYelena Vorotchik (Schultz) and her mother Yefrosinia Grenko from Belarus, as Righteous Among the Nations took place. Mr. Yevgeniy Vorotchik, son of the survivor and the Righteous Among the Nations emotionally accepted the medal and certificate of honor on his mother's and grandmother's behalf. Yevgeniy was extremely touched to accept the award on behalf of his mother and grandmother in honor of their memory.

Yakov Meilachs, was born in 1921 in the city of Odessa. In 1939, Yakov was drafted to serve in the Red Army and after Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, he was sent to the front lines. A short while after, his unit was surrounded and he was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp in Barysaw, Belarus. While at the camp, Yakov was in constant danger of death due to his ethnic appearance which gave away his Jewish identity. Therefore, he changed his name to Vorotchik, which was the family name of his neighbors in Odessa.

Yelena Vorotchik with Yakov Vorotchik and children

Yefrosinia Grenko lived with her daughter, Yelena in Barysaw and worked at a cowshed of the German army unit that guarded the prisoner of war camp. Yelena came to help her mother milk the cows and took every opportunity she could to help the prisoners by smuggling food and tobacco. This is how Yelena met Yakov. During one brief conversation, Yelena mentioned to Yakov that he looks Jewish. Yakov revealed his secret and told her his real name, Yakov Meilachs, and that he feared that sooner or later his true identity would be discovered, and he would be killed. Yelena told her mother of her discovery and they both decided to help him. They bribed a clerk in the population registry to issue Yakov a fake identification card with the name Yakov Vorotchik in order to protect him while in the camp. Eventually Yakov managed to escape the camp and hid for several months at the home of Yelena and her mother, where they risked their lives to hide him. After the prison guards were replaced, and there was no danger of Yakov being recognized, he lived openly and worked at a factory. He continued to live with his rescuers, and was presented as Yelena's fiancé. After liberation, Yakov and Yelena were married and had three children.

After the war, Yakov began to search for his relatives in Odessa. His older brother was killed in battle, however his mother Zisla and his younger brother Lev survived. Acting upon his mother's advice, he did not change his name back to his original name, but instead kept the name Vorotchik for the rest of his life. He continued to live in Barysaw, and was recognized by the Jewish community as a Jew and never denied his Jewishness. Yelena and Yakov lived together for 47 years until Yakov's death in 1989.

Yevgeniy Vorotchik unveiling his mother's name on the Wall of Honor
with Mr. Vladimir Skvorsov

At the ceremony, Yevgeniy spoke fondly of his parents saying that they were wonderful people who worked a lot and loved each other deeply. Although they passed away, he is grateful for his growing family of 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, thanks to these two brave woman who risked their lives to save his father's life.

The ceremony was attended by Ambassador of Belarus to Israel, Mr. Vladimir Skvortsov, Director of the Department of the Righteous Among the Nations, Irena Steinfeldt, family including Yevgeniy's two grandchildren, Holocaust survivors, as well as members of the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous and teachers currently participating in a Russian speaking educators' seminar at Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies.

A memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance was held where Yevgeniy rekindled the eternal flame, accompanied by his grandson who is currently serving in the IDF. The ceremony continued in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations followed by the awarding of the medal and certificate and the unveiling of Yevgeniy's mothers name on the Righteous Wall where Yevgeniy proudly took photographs with his family and friends.

For more information about the Righteous Among the Nations: http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/about.asp

Today at Yad Vashem two cousins who have found each other thanks to Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names met for the first time. It was a very emotional and unexpected meeting. The grandmothers of Tatiana Zuckerman of Moscow (66) and Shalhevet Sara Ziv of Kfar Sava (67) were sisters.

Shalhevet Sara Ziv with daughter Hadar Ziv Lahav
and Tatiana Zuckerman in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem

Tatiana came especially from Moscow to take part in an educator's seminar at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, coordinated in partnership with the Holocaust Foundation based in Moscow. She believed all her life that she had almost no extended family, and that apart from her mother, Rachel Perelman (Milenki) (87), a survivor of the Minsk Ghetto and Auschwitz (who now lives in New York), and a very small number of distant cousins, no family members who survived the Holocaust. During her visit, Tatiana asked for assistance in searching Yad Vashem's databases to check for information about her family and their fate during the Holocaust. To her surprise Tatiana found a Page of Testimony on the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names commemorating Tzeril Milennki, her grandmother who was killed in the Minsk ghetto. The Page of Testimony was submitted in 2011 by Shalhevet Ziv, a grandniece of Tzeril.

Yad Vashem staff helped Tatiana locate Shalhevet and through searches on Facebook- were able to connect Tatiana and Shalhevet. The two talked (with the help of a translator – since Tatiana speaks only Russian) and confirmed that they are in fact related. Shalhevet came to Yad Vashem the next morning (today) to meet Tatiana before she returns to Moscow on Tuesday. The two cousins were so thrilled to meet each other. Tatiana and Shalhevet immediately felt a strong family connection and talked for hours comparing their family narratives and history as well as their lives today. Shalhevet showed Tatiana the family pictures and documents that she had found over the years and explained how her grandmother, Sarah Milenki, Tzeril's sister, was murdered along with other Jews of her town in the synagogue in Rakov.

Shalhevet Sara Ziv showing a picture of her
mother to Tatiana Zuckerman at Yad Vashem.

This was especially meaningful and poignant for Shalhevet who has invested many years and much effort investigating the roots of her family. As a tribute to her grandmother Sara who was murdered in the Holocaust, Shalhevet has made it her mission to share her family's legacy. After meeting with Tatiana, she is now able to continue and develop her research of the family tree, making corrections and additions based on information she has learned from her newly found cousin. She is preparing to publish a book based on her research, in which she was able to trace the roots of her family as far back as 1838. Tatiana feels that she has been given the gift of a family, "I cannot wait to share this discovery with my mother, she will be deeply moved to know that others survived. All these years we believed we were the only ones."

Shalhevet said elatedly with tears in her eyes to Tatiana, "You have a big family now in Israel!"

The other educators participating in Tatiana's seminar also joined to meet Shelhevet and take a photograph together. They were very excited for Tatiana and her discovery of her new family in Israel.

Teachers from the educator's seminar in the
Hall of Names at Yad Vashem

The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem serves as a world hub for Holocaust education, attracting educators from around the globe. Pedagogical materials and teacher-training activities are being constantly developed to create tailor-made programs for each visiting group, thus training an international cadre of educational leaders who continue to disseminate the School’s unique teaching philosophy across a variety of cultures. In 2014, the International School engaged with over 20,000 educators. Among its scores of pedagogical activities, the School conducted more than 150 long-term seminars and 370 teacher-training days.

"Faces of the Fallen" is a volunteer project, established in 2012, to research the lives of fallen soldiers in Israel and complete the details engraved on their tombstones. Sponsored in cooperation with the memorial unit of Israel's Ministry of Defense, the project works collaboratively with Yad Vashem to research soldiers who were born in Europe and immigrated to Israel either prior to or immediately following the Holocaust. Yad Vashem serves not only a source of vital information about the soldiers' lives, but also helps shed light on the soldiers' family backgrounds and sometimes locate living relatives by making
use of information in the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names.

Grave of Moshe Willinger

Many of the fallen in Israel between the years of 1940-1950
were soldiers who immigrated before World War II. The majority of the families they left behind were murdered in the Holocaust. Other fallen soldiers were themselves survivors of the horrors of the Holocaust who were recruited into the army soon after their arrival and fell in the battle for Israel's independence. Often there is very little information about their experiences during the war or their family background. "Faces of the Fallen" is currently researching the lives of some 300 soldiers from Europe, mainly Holocaust survivors. Headed by Dorit Perry and Uri Sagi, project volunteers "adopt" soldiers and research their biographies in archives in Israel and abroad.

The cooperation with Yad Vashem allows the project team to access archival
databases and learn more about the fallen soldiers. Thanks to information in Yad Vashem's Names Database, project staff were able to learn more about Moshe Willinger, a survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, who fell in the line of duty on August 15, 1948 at the age of 20. Tracing the history of Brent Willinger, Moshe's father, volunteers found evidence that Moshe's sister may have been murdered together with her father. They also found the name of his mother, as well as further information about his family's experiences during World War II. During an emotional ceremony held on April 21, 2015 at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl attended by Moshe's cousins, his friends from the Bnei Akiva youth movement as well as the young volunteers who had tirelessly researched his story, Moshes Willinger's tombstone was replaced with a new stone containing all the updated information that was discovered.

By: Yiftach Ashkenazy

Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day in Israel is a day that usually focuses on the memory of the Holocaust in Israel, however this year I wanted to highlight the work that has been done in a country that we typically don’t think about—South Africa.

Holocaust survivor Tomi
Reichental

I discovered Holocaust commemoration in South Africa when I arrived in South Africa during the week of International Holocaust Memorial Day in January. I had traveled on behalf of Yad Vashem and the Israeli Foreign Ministry to attend lectures held at various Holocaust centers in South Africa that included: Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. The lectures touched upon how Holocaust survivors have rebuilt their lives and on Yad Vashem's pedagogical philosophy. I met more than 5oo people and felt they had a strong connection to the Holocaust. I also had the opportunity to meet students from Orange farm. When I concluded my trip, I left with a good feeling and gratitude for the important work of the Holocaust centers in South Africa.

Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental with the Jewish
Women's Benevolent Soiety

When I returned to Israel I received a message from Marlene Bethlehem whom I met while in Johannesburg. She informed me about an important event related to Holocaust commemoration that Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental, whom I met while on my trip, would participate. Tomi is a survivor of Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp. He was 9 years of age at the time and has since written a book called I Was A Boy In Belsen. He has spoken all over the world about his experience in Bergen Belsen.

The Nashua Children’s Children Charity Foundation and the Jewish Women’s Benevolent Society brought Tom to South Africa where he spoke in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. One of the remarkable events associated with his visit was a dinner at Investec in March where he addressed 250 people, including the Israeli Ambassador. The evening commenced with a very unusual musical item. The MC Garbai School from Lenasia, a Muslim school for hard-of- hearing pupils, played a selection of music on marimba instruments (traditional African xylophones).They then presented the South African anthem as well as Hatikvah in sign language for a Jewish audience.

I was touched by this special bridging of cultures. When I think about this event and the work alongside Yad Vashem in South Africa, I understand how important it is to remember Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day in Israel, in addition to other commemoration events around the world.

His Legacy Lives on – an Encounter at the Museum of Holocaust Art

Archeological Digs Reveal Sobibór Gas Chambers

Recognizing the Rescuers

Yad Vashem comment on the theft of part of the "arbeit macht frei" sign from Dachau

A Tribute to Heroes

Yad Vashem Mourns the Passing of Naphtali Lau-Lavie

Book Corner

Holocaust-Era Menorah home for Hanukkah

"All of Israel are Responsible for One Another"?

From Our Artifacts Collection: Hanukkah Menorahs

Book Corner

In Response to Comments Regarding Death Camps in Poland

IRemember Facebook Wall

Response from Yad Vad Vashem regarding the on-site taxi service

Holocaust survivor, journalist and author Roman Frister passes away in Warsaw, aged 87.

EHRI International Workshop at Yad Vashem: Holocaust Art – An Essential Tool for the Methodology of Constructing a Historical Narrative

Belarus Righteous Among the Nations Posthumously Honored at Yad Vashem

Family Reunion

Faces of the Fallen

Holocaust Commemoration in South Africa