Tombstones Tell the Stories of the Shoah

Mass Gravestone in Jerusalem cemetery

When visiting a Jewish cemetery it is usually on specific occasions or dates, for example the annual yahrtzeit (anniversary of the date of death) of a relative or friend. One is not likely to pay much attention to the words imprinted on the various tombstones surrounding him. But if one pauses and scans the "small print" engraved into the tombstones in the labyrinth of the cemetery he may reveal many fascinating stories, shedding light onto details regarding the fate of the buried person as well as his or her extended family during the Holocaust period. This phenomenon is commonly found in Jewish cemeteries in Israel and around the world, providing testimony and telling stories that have been carved for eternity onto the stone monuments.

Esther Erlich, z"l 

Many such 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 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.

In the Har Hamenuchot cemetery in 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 re-interred in Jerusalem. The stones of the monument tell the story of the eight individual victims and highlight the devotion of the Jewish people, and their acts of communal kindness and their efforts to save their brethren even during the most difficult times. Among the eight were Esther Erlich, her mother, father and brother. Esther was born in 1928 and was only 15 years old when she was murdered. Inscribed next to her name is a short epitaph giving a glimpse of her actions.

Page of Testimony in memory of Esther Erlich

"Such was her noble essence. During the hardest of days she endangered her own life to save others." 

Since 2004, over 1.5 million names have been collected through The Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project. Of these, over 700,000 names of Shoah victims have been collected from Torah world sources and commemoration projects as well as from Pages of Testimony within the ultra-Orthodox sector.  To date, the online Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names now includes 4.3 million names of Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust.

For more information about submitting names or volunteer opportunities, please contact:

Names.memory@yadvashem.org.il

Hundreds of Educators from 50 Countries Gather at Yad Vashem

Despite the deteriorating security situation in Israel, hundreds of educators from across the world attended the 9th International Conference on Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies from July 7-10, 2014.

Shawntelle Nesbitte, a teacher and curriculum developer from Canada was very impressed by the level and depth of information presented at the conference. She described it as "successfully building on the previous conference which I attended in 2010. I really appreciated the generational distinctions made regarding Holocaust education and the presentation of the different educational approaches throughout the years, especially the focus placed on the third and fourth generations so that we as teachers can better understand the challenges we face in providing quality education."

Dr. Eyal Kaminka, Lily Safra Chair of Holocaust Education, Director of the
International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem addresses participants

The conference entitled "Through Our Own Lens: Reflecting on the Holocaust from Generation to Generation" included some 450 participants from 50 countries across the globe including China, Poland, Argentina, Canada, Namibia, Venezuela, Greece, and Spain and was split into three sections: the purpose of Holocaust documentation on the part of the first and second generations; how the events of the Shoah continue to find significance in the lives of those born afterwards; and the future of Holocaust education and remembrance among the youth of today – and tomorrow. The conference's panels, discussions and lectures were presented by prominent guest speakers including internationally renowned authors, filmmakers, theologians, world-class historians and technology experts which primarily focused on this central theme of generational responsibility in the perpetuation of Holocaust remembrance and education.

Interview with Serge Klarsfeld, who led prosecutions against Nazis and their
collaborators, conducted by his son Arno Klarsfeld

Opening remarks were given by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council. During the course of the conference participants also had the opportunity to hear from many lecturers and moderators including Justice Gavriel Bach, former deputy prosecutor in the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann, Professor Yehuda Bauer, Academic Advisor to Yad Vashem, Holocaust survivor and author Professor Rabbi David Halivni, historian and author Professor Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, and an interview with Serge Klarsfeld, who led prosecutions against Nazis and their collaborators, conducted by his son Arno Klarsfeld.

Ephraim Kaye, Director of the International Seminars for Educators
Department at Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies

Participants included hundreds of educators from 50 countries

In order to make the conference more accessible for educators who were unable to attend in person, a live stream was available for people from around the world to view the plenary sessions on the International School's website. A recording of many of the conference's sessions can be viewed here.

Each part of the conference was designed to examine the unique role of Holocaust survivors, and the second, third and fourth generations, in sustaining effective and meaningful Holocaust education for various age groups as well as meet the many challenges currently faced and those anticipated in the future.

Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev shares his remarks

"As the events of the Shoah are rapidly receding into history, it is incumbent upon us to explore how each generation has grappled with, and continues to find significance in, the implications of the Holocaust,” said Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev. "As our documentation efforts continue to evolve with the many technological advances that have made the presentation of information more accessible to a wide array of audiences, our responsibility in continuing to shape and inform the future of Holocaust commemoration and education remains as vital and relevant as ever."

The Opening Ceremony was held in the Valley of the Communities

The conference was made possible by the generous support of the Asper Foundation, Adelson Family Fund and Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies conducts dozens of seminars annually for educators from around the world, and produces educational material in over 20 different languages. Established in 1993, the International School is a world leader in Shoah education; working to implement educational activities for different target populations and age groups in Israel and abroad. 


For more information: http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/conference/2014/index.asp.

New Books in English Offer Varied Perspectives

Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research has recently published a number of new books in English which reveal new insights from unique perspectives into various aspects of the Shoah.  

Gates of Tears: The Holocaust in the Lublin District
David Silberklang
NIS 174 NIS 128

The book examines the Shoah in the Lublin District, an area central to Nazi anti-Jewish policy. Its analysis traces forced population movements and forced labor, constants in German policy, the bitter early memory of which influenced Jews’ later actions. Many hid or fled the deportations to death camps and forced labor, fearing an extreme return of earlier experience, unable to grasp the “Final Solution”. Lublin was a contradictory district – few ghettos yet little survival; Jews could not affect their collective fate. As Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Talmud wrote in a last letter, no hope remained “only the gates of tears have not been locked before us”.

Prelude to Mass Murder: The Pogrom in Iaşi, Romania, June 29, 1941 and Thereafter

Jean Ancel

NIS 174 NIS 128

June 29, 1941. The beginning of the murder of about 15,000 Jews in Iaşi in riots instigated by the fascist Romanian regime of Ion Antonescu. This was but a prelude to the genocide of the Jews of Romania. The thousands of Jews who remained alive in the city were crowded into two “death trains” and deported, with most dying of hunger and thirst. Based on rich documentation, the book recreates the events from the Jewish viewpoint.

Europe in the Eyes of Survivors of the Holocaust

Editors: Zeev Mankowitz, David Weinberg, Sharon Kangisser Cohen

NIS 174 NIS 128

In what sense was the European heritage responsible for Jewish cultural and intellectual development? How could one describe the events of the Holocaust? Was there a future for Jews in a reconstructed Europe? A group of scholars suggests a more nuanced view by examining the perspectives of ten survivors – philosophers, activists, and memoirists – whose attitudes towards the European past were characterized by conflicting feelings of alienation and attraction.

For more information about these publications and others please contact: publications.marketing@yadvashem.org.il or visit the Yad Vashem online store.

Jewish Girl was "Poster Baby" in Nazi Propaganda

The Nazi family magazine "Sonnie ins Hous"
with Hessy's baby picture on the cover

In June 2014 Hessy Taft (nee Levinson) visited Yad Vashem with her husband to present a unique gift to the Archives. While recounting a rare story that occurred to her as a baby, Hessy handed an original issue of the Nazi family magazine "Sonne ins Haus" (Sunshine in the House) with her baby picture on the front cover to Yad Vashem's "Gathering the Fragments" campaign. The following summarizes her remarkable story:

Hessy Taft (nee Levinson) was born in Berlin in 1934 to Jewish parents Jacob and Polin Levinson who were originally from Latvia. After studying music the two married in 1928 and later immigrated to Germany.

Hessy explained how her father became a representative for a farm-based firm after being discriminated against due to antisemitism: "Living in Berlin, both my parents were going to be opera singers. However, when they found out that my father was Jewish they canceled his contract."

In 1935, Hessy's mother and aunt took six-month-old Hessy to be photographed in a professional studio by Hans Ballin, a well-known German photographer in Berlin. Seven months later the Levinson family housekeeper told Polin that she saw Hessy's picture on the cover of a popular Nazi family magazine "Sonne ins Haus" (Sunshine in the House). The photograph had been selected in a contest from an assortment of a hundred pictures of babies in Germany by ten well-known German photographers. The contest had been arranged by the Nazi propaganda department headed by Joseph Goebbels in which entries for the winning picture would depict the ideal beautiful German Aryan baby that would appear on the cover of the magazine. 

It turned out that the photographer, unbeknownst to the Levinson family, along with his submission of 10 other pictures, had thrown in Hessy's baby photo as well which ended up winning the contest. The irony of the fact that a Jewish baby had won a Nazi propaganda contest designed to showcase the ideal Aryan child set up by the office of Goebbels was not lost on Hessy's mother who later said: "I wanted to allow myself the pleasure of the joke." Hessy's photo was also later redistributed on postcards throughout Germany and even made it as far as present day Lithuania.

When confronted with the question regarding what she would say today to the photographer who entered her picture in the contest Hessy responded: "I would tell him, good for you for having the courage."

After fleeing Germany to Paris in 1938, the family later escaped France in 1941 and fled from the Nazi occupied north to Vichy France and from there through Spain and Portugal before boarding a ship to Cuba. After years in Cuba, in 1949 the family immigrated to the United States despite being committed Zionists. "My strongest memory from childhood was running away. My father told me once that when there would be a Jewish state there would be no more running away."

Hessy studied chemistry at Barnard College and Columbia University and in 1959 married Earl Taft with whom she has two children and four grandchildren. After a long career in the field of standardized testing, today she is a professor of chemistry at St. John's University.

While her immediate family survived the Shoah, most of her family members in Latvia were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Upon being asked how she felt about being a Jewish poster child in a Nazi propaganda magazine she said: "I feel a sense of revenge, good revenge."
The magazine was donated as part of Yad Vashem’s Gathering the Fragments campaign, which encourages people with Holocaust related material in their possession to bring them here to Yad Vashem, where they will be protected for posterity, along with the stories behind the items, and also join all the other material in the Yad Vashem collections, so that together all these fragments of information can tell a fuller story.
"Personal stories, told through items such as letters, artwork, diaries and more add a critical dimension to Holocaust commemoration and education," said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev. "That is why we are urging people who may have Holocaust-related material in their possession to bring them to Yad Vashem, where they will be preserved for generations to come."

Since the beginning of this program in 2011, some 120,000 items have been brought to Yad Vashem, including photos, documents and artifacts. People who want to donate material should email collect@yadvashem.org.il or call 02 644 3888. 

Reflections from the 60th Anniversary Mission

Three generations (left to right): Rosalyn Gaon, Elena (Puppi) Gaon and
David Feuerstein, President of the Chile Association for Yad Vashem
(Photo: Isaac Harari)

Several participants of Yad Vashem's International 60^th Anniversary Mission which took place June 11-19, 2014 in Poland and Israel are still sharing some thoughts regarding their experience. Among them are Rosalyn Gaon, granddaughter to Holocaust survivor David Feuerstein, President of the Chile Association for Yad Vashem, who spoke about the cross-generational responsibility of Holocaust commemoration:  

"As the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, I feel it is my duty to pass on the history of the Holocaust to future generations. It is our duty to find the right words to define the Shoah, and our principal duty is never to let such horrors happen ever again. We have to remain vigilant and active, we have to react, tell our children, our brothers and sisters, we have to tell the world what happened. We owe it to the victims, to the survivors, to their families; we owe it to them to pass on their stories, and to never forget what they went through on our behalf…"

Ron Diskin and Jackie Frankel, U.S. Donor Affairs Liaison in the International
Relations Division, Yad Vashem in the Square of Hope (Photo: Martin Sykes-Haas)

Another participant of the Mission to share his experience was Ron Diskin, grandson of Abe and Edita Spiegel, benefactors of Yad Vashem and donors of the Children's Memorial. The unique memorial was built to commemorate the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered during the Holocaust, including the Spiegels' son Uziel who was murdered in Auschwitz at the age of two and a half. The following text contains some of his reflections from the 60th Anniversary Mission:

"I was honored this week to be a participant of the international mission to remember the past and shape the future of the Jews. For three consecutive days I saw many aspects of Yad Vashem, why it was created, why it is constantly enhanced and its ultimate objective. What makes Yad Vashem so special is that it is a live entity, comprised of so much passion, emotion, pain, pleasure, ignorance, wisdom, hatred and love.

Some people are horrified and saddened by the genocide they are reminded of at Yad Vashem; I am inspired by what I see at Yad Vashem. Of course, I see the many names of the deceased, and I think of what my family went through in the various camps where most of them were annihilated, and few lived. However, this is not the essence for me.

The Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem (Photo: Yossi Ben-David)

When I walk around Yad Vashem and participate in its growth and future, I witness the extraordinary achievements made by the survivors of the Holocaust. I feel, see, hear and am touched by the legacy of the intense passion and dedication of 2^nd and 3^rd generation Holocaust survivors. I focus on how people were united, strengthened and hardened by tragedy, not how they were weakened and almost destroyed by hatred and ignorance.  I am a 3^rd generation Holocaust survivor. My grandfather, Abraham Spiegel, escaped on his death march from one of the four camps he suffered in. Ten thousand men fled into the freezing forest upon his escape, 9,500 were immediately gunned down and terminated like vermin [as Hitler often called my people]. 108 members of the Spiegel family were killed in the Holocaust. Millions more of our people were killed. My grandfather created The Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem to honor his first-born son who was murdered in the gas chamber in Auschwitz at age two, and equally, to honor the many souls who died an ugly death.

My grandfather was a successful banker who had the means to create parks and contribute to museums in Israel. Regardless of a lady or man’s background, any individual can contribute in her or his own way to Yad Vashem. What is right for one indiviudal may not be what is best for another:

Participants in Yad Vashem 60th Anniversary International Mission replace a
tree that had been planted in honor of the Righteous Among the Nations that
was uprooted in the severe snowstorm of Winter 2013 (L-R) Miriam
Ben-Sander, Liaison for the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, Yaron
Ashkenazi, CEO of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, Ed Sonshine,
Benefactor of Yad Vashem, Fran Sonshine, National Chair of the Canadian
Society for Yad Vashem, Israel Mida, Yad Vashem Benefactor and
Holocaust survivor Joe Gottdenker, Yad Vashem Benefactor
(Photo: Isaac Harari)

The best way anyone of any background, gender, creed or race can contribute to Yad Vashem is by taking family and peers there to see how beautiful and resilient my people are; to see how much love and unity can emanate from so much hatred and destruction. The emotions and thoughts of the people who visit Yad Vashem are the true bloodline, which keeps Yad Vashem so vivacious. I was a volunteer combat soldier here in Israel. I stand ready to defend my people as a professional warrior, but I hope, intend and try to protect my people with love and wisdom. Destruction is easy; creation is so beautiful. Yad Vashem is not a museum where you will see the destruction of my people. Yad Vashem is a museum where you will see the re-creation, unification, evolution, boldness and beauty of my people. Yad Vashem is the paragon of love, strength, unity and culture." 

A Partnership of Remembrance for Years to Come

A special International Mission marking Yad Vashem's 60th anniversary this month included an exceptional eight days in Poland and Israel.  At the closing event, Yad Vashem Benefactor Mark Moskowitz shared his reflections:

Good evening.

I am the son of survivors. My brothers and sister and I were always strongly aware of our parents’ tragic history and their remarkable survival. Even though our beloved parents, Rose and Henry, suffered unbearable losses, they imbued in us an unlimited sense of hope and determination, and a commitment to helping others achieve the fulfilling, happy and healthy life they found with one another. While they restarted their lives in the United States, their passionate connection to Israel was always, and continues to be, a source of strength. My late Father’s strong belief in G-d, his unwavering spirit and his commitment to tzedakah helped him overcome unspeakable tragedies and create a truly significant life for himself, his family and his community.

Today, I lead the business that my father founded 62 years ago, and continue his professional legacy as well as strive to carry on the vital traditions that he instilled in us. Attending the official Yom Hashoah ceremony –here at Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, has become an integral part of my life. Every year, it is held a week before Yom Hazikaron, the Memorial Day for fallen soldiers in Israel, and I am present to observe this most solemn day of remembrance. Together, these memorials intensify the historic bond between Israel and Jews worldwide.

In sharp contrast, like many other interesting and unique juxtapositions in Israel, Yom Ha’atzmaut, follows immediately the day after Yom Hazikaron. This is the time when we rejoice in the miracle that is the State of Israel, and we mark the unbreakable chain that links our fate as a nation all the way back to the days of Abraham.

These three events provide consecutive days of reflection for us as individuals… as a nation… and as a People. And our existence as a people is represented and understood in such a clear way right here, at Yad Vashem. This is where we begin to appreciate the history and ethos of the State of Israel and, in a greater sense, the heart of the Jewish nation. The fact that Yad Vashem is centered in Jerusalem, brings us a better understanding of the roots of the State of Israel and its importance to the Jewish People, and furthermore gives us a destination to view our history, right from the heart of the Jewish nation, and the strength to secure our future.

Yad Vashem has been an inspiration to me and an unparalleled resource -- not only of facts and history -- but also of emotional strength. It has provided me with context for the stories I heard from my parents while growing up. As in the case of so many Holocaust survivors, they were understandably reluctant to talk about all the terrible details with their children. But the bits and pieces of information I gleaned growing up truly came to light, in its horrific truth, in Yad Vashem’s Holocaust History Museum; like so many individual links coming together, connecting the past with the present.

Here is where truth is displayed in its most terrible form, as well as in its most hopeful. Here is where we can continue to connect the past with the present and bear witness long into the future. Collectively, we must safeguard the memories and be the sentinels for these crucial vaults of history, so that they are never forgotten and never repeated; and that others’ denials are recognized for what they are, abject dangerous falsehoods.

The profound effect that Yad Vashem has had on me defies description. Actively participating in supporting and maintaining this center of history and remembrance has become a true “center” of my life.

This anniversary milestone is an opportunity to appreciate how far Yad Vashem has come since its founding, and also to consider the myriad of challenges that it faces going forward. We are recognizing Yad Vashem’s amazing achievements of education worldwide, dissemination of history, a world-class museum, and recognition as the authority for Holocaust commemoration, education, documentation and research. Even the frequent visitors among us were fascinated by the presentations by various Department Heads on the careful, painstaking, deliberate and, what we can even describe as “holy” work done on a daily basis. Here, meticulous care is being provided to record, archive and index documents, artifacts and history. Innovative and creative ways to teach current and future generations about the Shoah are being developed. Moral values are being recorded and analyzed: those of Jews before the war, victims, the Righteous, and the perpetrators.

Most importantly, Yad Vashem is determined to document the identity and humanity of EACH of the victims and survivors, by connecting fragments of information from its repositories of documents, photographs, historical objects and testimonies. For example, like trained detectives, the archivists were able to attach a name, history, face, and life-story to a six digit number present on a mass gravestone at Bergen Belsen.

Yad Vashem’s International 60th Anniversary Mission has been deeply moving and equally rewarding. On behalf of the Mission participants, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Yad Vashem for encouraging us to participate and for organizing this terrific week.

The last 8 days turned out to be a time for deep reflection. For me, the highlight of our time in Poland was the Mission’s participation in the Israeli Army’s ‘Edim Be’madim / Witnesses in Uniform’ ceremony on the site of the ruined crematoria at Auschwitz. I could not help but wonder whether the millions of victims could have ever imagined the flag of a Jewish State raised anywhere, let alone in this place. In particular I asked myself what my 18 family members who were murdered at Auschwitz would have thought of their grandson / nephew / cousin / half-brother standing in this place where they saw nothing but despair and devastation, 70 years later, with the ability to tell their story… Who will tell their story in future generations? Who will tell the stories of the survivors?

It was uniquely special to have Avraham Harshalom and Ed Mosberg, survivors of Auschwitz, with us as witnesses, who were able to show us first-hand where they were and what happened to them in a particular spot. And with us, here tonight -- David Feuerstein, who also survived Auschwitz – as well as the many other survivors– all with stories of resilience, hope and determination. Who will tell their stories in the future? Who will safeguard the first-hand testimonies and be able to maintain their authenticity other than Yad Vashem?
On behalf of the second and third generations, our participation in this Mission reaffirms our commitment to carry on the legacy and memory of those who were murdered, the legacy and well-being of the survivors; and to carry on the torch of Holocaust Remembrance. Yesterday, Chaim Leventhal told me that, now that I have planted a tree in honor of a Righteous Among the Nations here at Yad Vashem as a participant in this Mission, I take on the responsibility to return regularly, to water it. I ask the second and third generation members to join me in this effort, and be Yad Vashem’s partner for years to come.

Thank you.

Ohio Dedicates New Holocaust and Liberators Memorial

Features Moving Quote by Yad Vashem Chairman

From left to right: S. Isaac Mekel, Development Director of the American Society
for Yad Vashem, Governor John Kasich of Ohio, Yaron Sideman, Israel's
Consul General to the mid-Atlantic region and architect Daniel Libeskind 

A new Holocaust and Liberators Memorial was unveiled at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, by Governor John Kasich of Ohio on Monday, June 2, 2014 in a commemorative ceremony. The new memorial featuring words by Avner Shalev, Yad Vashem Chairman, was designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind who conceived the 1,029 square-foot memorial that now stands as a monument in Capitol Square commemorating the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and other victims of the Nazis. The memorial also honors survivors as well as soldiers from Ohio who served in the American Armed Forces and who took part in freeing thousands from concentration camps during World War II.

A pathway leads to two 18-foot-high treated bronze monolithic forms which are positioned at a 45 degree angle to one another, forming a Star of David which offers a view to the sky. The pathway leading to the monument is lined with benches and a graduated wall of Columbus limestone. The top of the wall is edged with the words from the Talmud: "If you save one life, it is as if you saved the world…"  At the request of Libeskind, an inspirational quote by Avner Shalev is engraved on the stone:

"Every human being who chooses to remember this chapter of history and to infuse it with meaning is thereby choosing to struggle for the preservation of the bedrock moral values that alone make possible the existence of a well-ordered society. This is a commitment to uphold human rights, above all, freedom and the sanctity of life, and the opportunity for people to live side by side in harmony."

The memorial also recounts the rescue story from Auschwitz of two Holocaust survivors which is inscribed on the monument. Governor Kasich explained: "The goal of the memorial is to drive us all to contemplate the great evil perpetrated in the Holocaust against Jews and many others, and be ever vigilant against the hatred and intolerance that inevitably leads a society to death and division."

A letter sent by Avner Shalev was read aloud by Yaron Sideman, Israel's Consul General to the mid-Atlantic region, calling the survivors and liberators "inspiring role models" and commending Governor Kasich and the efforts of all those involved with the endeavor: "Your initiative and decision to construct a Holocaust Memorial at the Ohio Statehouse reflect a profound vision - a vision of universal human morality and of essential human decency."

The dedication event included a variety of speeches, musical interludes, a minute of silence, the ringing of the Ohio Bicentennial Bell and a candle lighting ceremony before the memorial was unveiled. Representing Yad Vashem at the ceremony was S. Isaac Mekel, Development Director of the American Society for Yad Vashem.